Business As Usual
by WiseTomato
Summary: View the adventures of Ichigo and Rukia through the ages--from some god awful lemons at the start, to whatever the author's mind is producing now, there's no shortage of IchiRuki goodness to be had. Witchcraft, Bar Fights and good 'ol Hollow hunting.
1. Basketball and Fun

**For the purposes of this story, Ichigo is 21 years old and attending university. He lives with Rukia, who also attends with him. Most of his high-school friends attend too. They all currently live in Tokyo. **

"Come on Ichigo, don't be such a wuss."

Ichigo glared at the speaker, his co-called friend Tatsuki and replied with annoyance. "I don't see why I have to lose my shirt just to play a game of basketball."

The red haired man standing behind Tatsuki guffawed. "You're a friggin' prude Ichigo."

The prude in question scowled at Renji as Tatsuki replied. "Because we're the shirtless team Ichigo." Tatsuki was wearing a black training bra and had received a few wolf whistles from the male spectatorsas she had taken off her shirt. Renji had received the same reaction from the female half of the spectators when he had taken off his shirt, revealing his extensive tattoos. They were set to play the seniors basketball team, but were one player short. This had led them to the current situation of bugging Ichigo to join their team.

Tatsuki's eyes narrowed evilly as she thought of a sure-fire way to get Ichigo to play. She nodded at Ichigo. "I understand that you don't want to help your friends." As Ichigo grumbled that that wasn't the case, Tatsuki turned to Rukia, who was sitting on the grandstand benches next to the carrot-top.

"Rukia-kun, how would you feel about playing with us?"

Ichigo paled quickly as she nodded her acceptance, as he knew from first-hand experience this morning that Rukia was wearing a revealing, lacy black bra that did nothing to hide her attribute. He got up quickly, pushing Rukia back onto the bench as he did.

"I'll play the stupid game." He snapped at Tatsuki. He failed to see the smirk that passed between her and Rukia.

Failing to notice that a number of the women in the gym were looking on in interest as he shed his shirt, Ichigo didn't fail to hear the collective gasp that ran around the groups nearest to his when he ditched his shirt completely. Their eyes were drawn to the numerous and criss-crossed scars that ran across Ichigo's torso. A few people noted that a lot of them looked like sword or knife wounds. As Ichigo began to feel self-conscious, Tatsuki attempted to get the game going.

The seniors team was headed by a big guy who bleached his hair and like to boast about the fact that he had achieved a black belt in some obscure type of martial arts. The other two guys on the seniors team were little better, ill-mannered brutes who were skilled in physical activity but lacked the knowledge required to interact in a social environment. The captain of the seniors team, Ooshima, made a comment to his cronies that everyone on the court overheard. "Hey Jyuu, Hirato, I told you she was flat like a boy."

Tatsuki blushed crimson and looked down as the thug's sycophants laughed dutifully, too embarrassed in front of all these people to respond. Her heart lifted when she, and everyone else who had heard Ooshima's comment, clearly heard Renji's reply.

"Asshole, I'm so gonna pound you."

Ooshima was spared the mental exertion of having to come up with a witty retort as the ref called for the jump.

"Ready to jump, game is first to five. Buckets are worth one point, three's are worth two"

Renji lined up against Ooshima…the ball was thrown into the air and both men jumped, Ooshima's face having an unfortunate (and entirely accidental) collision with Renji's elbow.

Renji tapped the ball to Ichigo, who dribbled it down the court, dodging Jyuu and drawing Hirato away from Tatsuki before bounce-passing the ball to her. She went for the lay-up, and watched the ball roll around the rim of the basket for a few agonizing seconds before dropping in. Score: 1-0.

Jyuu took the ball to the baseline, and passed it immediately to Ooshima, despite the fact that Hirato was in a better position. Ooshima then charged down the court with Renji in his face, sticking to him like glue and taking every opportunity to 'help' him trip. When Ooshima realized he was stuck, he deigned to pass the ball back to Jyuu—only to have it intercepted by Tatsuki, who dribbled it effortlessly back down the court for another lay-up. Score: 2-0.

Once again, Jyuu passed the ball in from the baseline, but did the smart thing this time, passing it to Hirato. He managed to get past Tatsuki, only to find himself stopped by Ichigo at the three point line at the other end of the court. He attempted to dribble around him several times, before giving up and throwing a haymaker three point shot. To the shock of everyone watching, it went straight in. Swish. Score: 2-2.

Renji took the inbound, passing the ball straight to Tatsuki, who passed it right back as Renji stepped onto the court. Both Jyuu and Ooshima charged at Renji, hoping to knock him over the baseline, only to see the ball soar over their heads and into Ichigo's waiting hands. Hirato was waiting as Ichigo turned and flew up the court, and defended long enough to allow Jyuu to catch up and help. Ooshima was having difficulties getting past Renji. Tatsuki and Ichigo began passing the ball back and forth, teasing their opponents with their inability to steal the ball. Renji finally gave up taunting Ooshima and sped down the court, receiving the ball on the three point line and mimicking the shot taken by Hirato. It hit the rim, bounced once, twice, before falling through the net with a satisfying sound. Score: 4-2.

Hirato took the inbound this time, passing to Jyuu, who managed to catch the ball before it fell into Tatsuki's waiting fingers. Hirato ran down the court, managing to avoid a near steal by Ichigo, before stepping behind Tatsuki and taking a shot from the free throw line. Straight in. Score: 4-3.

Renji took the ball from the base, bouncing the ball in front of him and taking it up the court himself. He was running quite a bit faster then necessary—and he was heading straight for Ooshima. Renji negligently passed the ball to Ichigo before tucking his chin into his shoulder and crashing into Ooshima, knocking him off his feet, whereupon his head made its introduction to the polished wooden floor. Renji couldn't hold back a reckless grin, and there were even a few cheers from around the now crowded gym.

Further up the court, Ichigo was still charging towards the basket, and he could see Tatsuki running at his side, keeping Hirato and Jyuu away from him. Almost effortlessly, Ichigo took a step up into the air and let the ball slip out of his grip into the basket. Ichigo grinned as he scored the winning point. He gave Tatsuki a high-five and clapped Renji on the back in celebration. His eyes nearly popped out of his head along with Renji's as they turned and realized that nearly every female junior and quite a few seniors, had turned out when they had head that the two hottest guys in the university were playing shirtless in the gym. Rukia walked over to Ichigo—it wasn't quite a strut, but it wasn't a normal walk either—and wormed her way in between his arm and body. Upon seeing this, most—but not all—female eyes in the building turned to Renji, only to witness Tatsuki slide an arm somewhat possessively around his waist. She was also (pleasantly) surprised to realise that Renji had wrapped an arm around her shoulder at the same moment. The disappointment in the air was almost tangible.

The four of them left the gym victoriously, two couples. Tatsuki whispered something to Renji when she spotted an empty classroom, complete with curtains, something Ichigo was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to overhear. Renji glanced at Ichigo, blushing slightly, only to scowl as Ichigo grinned at him. That was when Rukia noticed that there was a _second_ empty classroom. With a determination that belied her stature, she literally dragged Ichigo into the room, while Tatsuki did the same to Renji. The two men could only grin helplessly at each other—not that they in any way had objections to what was about to occur.


	2. Kendo Club

**Because I forgot in the last post....**

**Thanks to Fathom-X for their helpful reviews and constructive crit, and Lady Spezz for the encouragement. Now on to chapter four...**

The chatter in the class continued as Ochi-sensei entered the classroom, not even bothering to call the unruly students to order. She began marking the role, accompanied by her usual comments about several students. She frowned when she reached the 'K's'.

"Hmmm, no Kurosaki or Kuchiki...I wonder if there's something going on between them?"

Her comment earned a few snickers from the students that had overheard her. Ochi-sensei walked to the door, intending to close it and begin the lesson, when she heard hurried footsteps and arguing voices.

"...don't know why those bastards have to pick the worst possible times to show up..." That was Kurosaki's voice.

"Do you expect them to wait upon your convenience? Fool! Forget that, your form is getting sloppy! You need to spend more time practicing, you swing that over sized meat cleaver around like an idiot!"

Ichigo's reply was cut off as he skidded to a halt, only to have Rukia crash into him. He suddenly became very nervous as he saw the evil look in his teacher's eye. She waved them in without another word.

"Alright class! I have a diagnostic test here for you all to do...." There was a collective groan from most of the class. "....But I have decided that for the first session we will all be going to the school dojo for a special Kendo lesson." Roughly half of the groans turned into cheers, with Tatsuki leading the way.

"Alright! Let's go!"

The class threaded its way through the halls of the school on their way to the dojo, gaining the attention of the classes they passed due to their excessive noise. Teachers stuck their heads out the door of their classes to see what the ruckus was, and most ended up deciding to join them at the dojo. By the time they actually reached the dojo, half the school (mainly senior classes) had congregated there to see what was going on. Ochi-sensei surveyed her handiwork.

"Wow! Guess no one really wanted to work today!" She turned to the school principal, who was approaching her with an amused look on his face. "Hey! What do you say to having a little tournament?"

The school principal considered his chances of winning an argument with the formidable woman, then decided that it was better for his state of mind to simply agree. He nodded, and Ochi-sensei grabbed a microphone and shouted the 500-odd students in the dojo into submission. After much cussing and clapping hands over their ears, the student body was silent.

"Alright! We're gonna have a little break from school, and have a Kendo comp!" There were several cheers at this. Ochi-sensei did quick head count of the classes. There were 25 classes, so two reps per class should do it. "Every teacher pick two students from their class! Winning pair gets boasting line-cut rights for the rest of the term!"

Ochi-sensei quickly returned to her own class, keen to get Tatsuki and Ichigo out there and win the impromptu competition. She was surprised when she found that Tatsuki, Orihime, Sado and Ishida were all arguing vehemently in favor of having Ichigo and Rukia represent their class.

Ichigo looked up as he saw his teacher approaching them. He would have been fine with Tatsuki as his partner, but the infernal woman had insisted that Rukia take the place, and the rest of his so called friends had supported her, shouting down the rest of the class. Ochi-sensei spoke up.

"Picked out our winning team yet?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah...me 'n Rukia."

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Thought the class would've chosen you and Tatsuki..." There was some grumbling from the class at this. "Oh well, so long as you guys win."

Ichigo smirked. "Don't worry. We will."

Rukia, on the other hand, was less than happy with the way events were unfolding. "Ichigo! Why do I have to participate in this?"

"Cause it's a competition. What, afraid you'll lose?" Ichigo replied with typical Kurosaki arrogance.

"I've worked very hard to build up the image that the teachers here have of me! I don't need this stupid competition to ruin it for me!" Rukia was slowly becoming more and more irritated. It was only after she had completed her statement that she realized how much she sounded like Ichigo when he was wingeing about his own image. "Oh, god...you've corrupted me."

The corrupter in question smirked. "You love it."

They were cut off from further bickering by the Return of Ochi-sensei and the Microphone (see cinemas later in the year for the full feature film).

"Alright! We'll split you guys into three groups of 25 for a general melee to start with!"

Ichigo took the bokken that was handed to him, not failing to notice the number of hostile glares that a number of the seniors were giving him. They had all been on the wrong end of his wrath at some point in their school lives, and were determined to seize this golden opportunity for some payback. The thugs, however, _did_ fail to notice that as soon as Ichigo took the bokken in hand and stood next to Rukia, his stance became more aggressive and his eyes much more focused. The Physical Education teacher blew a whistle, and the battle began.

The seniors dropped all pretense of participating in the competition and charged at Ichigo and Rukia en masse, howling at the top of their voices. They wouldn't have looked out of place at the 11th Squad. You could almost feel sorry for them. Almost. Ichigo and Rukia moved in tandem, dishing out pain left and right. When Ichigo attacked high, Rukia defended low. When Rukia covered his side, Ichigo made sure no one could sneak up on her. Their team work left anyone with any knowledge of Kendo speechless, and those who knew nothing about it could still appreciate the damage they were dealing. Within three minutes it was all over. Their opponents were a mass of groaning bodies on the floor, Ochi-sensei was doing a happy dance comparable to Madarame's 'Lucky Dance' and Ichigo and Rukia were leaning lightly on their wooden bokkens, watching the other fights unfold. Once they were concluded, Ochi-sensei took up the microphone and the students (and most of the teachers) covered their ears.

"All right! Here's the three winning pairs! Ichigo and Rukia, Ojichi and Hirato, and finally Jyuu and Orika!"

There was some cheering, as well as a few scattered cat calls and wolf whistles for Rukia and Orika, at which Ichigo and Jyuu stood up a little straighter, scowling and glaring at those responsible respectively. Ochi-sensei continued.

"Now it's the final round! For bragging rights and line cuts, let's have a nice, dirty fight! Go!"

The other two pairs seemed a little startled that the bout had started so suddenly, Ichigo and Rukia stepped smoothly into action, instincts honed in situations where enemies could move faster than the eye could follow and a mistake meant death. Subconsciously, Ichigo took Rukia's hand in his own and lunged towards Ojichi, trusting Rukia to protect him from any counters. Ojichi managed to get his own bokken underneath Ichigo's, moving the point away from his chest, only to feel a burn on his neck where Rukia had brought her own bokken down on him. Ichigo recovered from his lunge in time to see Orika take out Hirato, and to see the disgusted look on his face as he realized they had both been taken out so quickly. Ichigo and Rukia quickly turned to face Jyuu and Orika, still holding hands. Their opponents spread out slightly, both holding their bokkens in a two handed grip. Ichigo and Rukia held their ground as Jyuu and Orika rushed at them from both sides, attempting to split their defense. Ichigo held Jyuu off easily, putting more power into his blows even though he was only using one hand. Ichigo considered ending the fight quickly, but then decided he wanted to have some fun with Rukia first.

Rukia felt Ichigo's centre of gravity shift slightly, and the muscles in his arm bunch. She felt herself lifted into the air, and spun around like a figure skater. She delivered two quick taps to the shoulders of Orika and Jyuu, before closely in front of Ichigo. Very closely.

Ochi-sensei picked up the microphone to announce the winners, but even she was drowned out by the numerous cat calls and whistles emitted from the students at Ichigo and Rukia's behaviour. Realizing how close they were standing to each other, they both took a step back, blushing. They faced the spectators and bowed, still holding hands. A few people seemed to take an unholy amount of glee in pointing this out.

"Imagine how they'd react if they knew what else we'd gotten up to in a sporting area at school."

The words were spoken softly and only for Rukia to hear, but the blush that lit up her face alerted everyone else to the nature of Ichigo's comment. Rukia glared daggers at him. Oh, how she would make him regret those words. Ichigo paled at the look he was receiving, realizing that he would have to do something drastic to get out of the beating he was surely in for. Then he smirked. He knew a thing or two that would divert her....

The two of them bowed again, both convinced that they would get the last word in when each of them got the other on their own.


	3. The Easter Chappy

**Yeah, I know Easter was a few days ago. This is my first chance to update since then, so just enjoy the update. Another round of thanks to Fathom-X, Lady Spezz and AvaLuna, you three reviewed within minutes of my last update. Much appreciated!**

"Ichigo?"

"Nrngh?"

It was a Saturday, and as far as Ichigo was concerned, that meant he wasn't leaving his bed until midday at the latest. He checked his clock. 11:30. Close enough.

"What is the 'Easter Bunny'?"

His head still fuzzy from sleep, Ichigo replied without thinking. "It's a huge white bunny that goes around once a year handing out chocolate eggs."

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Ichigo realized what he had just said—and who he had said it to. He looked over at Rukia, whose eyes were shining with excitement.

"Chappy gives out chocolate? KYAAAAA!!"

Ichigo pulled his pillow over his head, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. "It's not Chappy, it's the Easter Bunny." He didn't have the heart to tell her that the Easter Bunny wasn't real.

Rukia composed herself, although she did seem to have a hard time staying in one spot. "So where do we go to collect our chocolate?"

"You don't just get it, you have to hunt for it. That' what Karin and Yuzu would have been doing earlier today. Well, Yuzu at least, I think Karin just does it to keep Yuzu happy." Not the brightest boy, our Ichigo.

"Hunt for Chappy?" There was outrage in Rukia's voice. Ichigo groaned.

"No, for the chocolate eggs. They would have been hidden around the yard. Probably all gone now though—ARGH!"

Rukia had grabbed him by the ear, and was hauling him out of bed. "Come, Ichigo! If the eggs are all gone from the yard, we must extend our search to the surrounding neighbourhood!"

Ichigo became fully awake at that point. He could envision himself being dragged around Karakura by Rukia, complete with safari outfit and net. He had to do something before this got out of hand.

"Uh—no Rukia! You can't do that..."

She turned on him with a smouldering glare. "And why not?"

Ichigo thought fast. "Uh, because the eggs outside of our yard are for other children! The Easter Bunny wouldn't like it if you took their eggs."

"Hmmm...I see." Rukia considered her dilemma for a moment. "Then how am I supposed to get my chocolate?"

Oh shit... "Uh, how bout you stay here and have breakfast, and I'll go talk to the Easter Bunny for you?"

"You would do that?"

Ichigo nodded seriously.

"I'm coming with you then! I want to meet giant Chappy!"

Ichigo's mind went into overdrive. "Well, uh, you can't do that either Rukia!"

"And why not?" She repeated.

"Because only people who don't get chocolate are allowed to meet and talk to the Easter Bunny. I don't get chocolate anymore, so I'm allowed to talk to him!"

Rukia nodded wisely. "I see." Then she turned on him. "Hurry up baka! I want my chocolate!" With that, she turned on her heel and ran downstairs, already imagining the sorts of chocolate Chappy would be giving her, leaving Ichigo to stand dumbstruck in his room.

"How the hell did this happen..." Ichigo shrugged mentally and began to get dressed, grabbing his wallet as he did. When he stumbled down the stair and into the living room, Rukia had just finished telling his whole family what Ichigo was going to do for her.

"Ichi-nii! You never told me you talked to the Easter Bunny!"

"Uh, well, it's supposed to be sort of a secret, Yuzu."

Ichigo's younger sister nodded in understanding. "Ok. See if you can get me some more chocolate too!"

Ichigo promised to get some more chocolate for Yuzu, and was about to make good his escape when his idiot father decided to put his head in.

"Masaki! Our son has become such a kind man! Maybe this offering of chocolate to our third daughter will begin the process of making me a grand—OOF!"

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!!! YOU'LL TRAUMATISE THE GIRLS!!"

As Isshin whimpered in a corner, holding his nose and trying to stem the blood flow, Ichigo looked to Karin. "Well, you want any more chocolate?"

Karin just raised an eyebrow. "I think I'm good for this year. Besides, I wouldn't want to strain your relations with the Easter Bunny by having you ask for too much."

Ichigo chuckled. Karin understood what was going on. He almost missed the next bit. "Wouldn't want to strain your wallet either..."

Ichigo turned, walking out the front door before his father could recover and cause more embarrassment. It was a fifteen minute walk to the nearest shop, giving Ichigo plenty of time to think. He passed by several parks, seeing plenty of small children on picnics searching for eggs with their friends. A humorous thought came to Ichigo._ That's where Rukia belongs. At least she'd be with people of her own height._ His reverie was interrupted when he saw three junior high schoolers surrounding several middle school kids.

"Come on, just give us the chocolate and we'll leave you alone."

The middle schoolers clustered closer together, refusing to give up their precious chocolate.

"Look, either you give us the chocolate or we give you some bruises. Which would you prefer?"

The younger children looked to be on the verge of giving up, until the smallest of their group spoke up.

"Nup! We're not going to give you anything, so just leave us alone!"

The biggest high schooler's face screwed up in anger. "You little...!"

He brought his fist up and went to hit the kid who had spoken up, only to find his wrist in an iron grip. The bully looked up to see orange hair and an angry scowl.

"Who said it was alright for you to pick on kids smaller than you?"

"Hey, take your hands off of Go-chan!" The other two bullies lunged at Ichigo, only to receive a foot to the face each. The bully that Ichigo had a hold of took the chance to try to free himself, driving his free fist into Ichigo's stomach. He quailed when his blow had no visible affect, other than to make Ichigo even angrier. Ichigo head butted him hard in the face, then let him sink to the ground. He turned to the younger kids, who had watched the entire exchange with wide eyes.

"Woah...that was so cool!"

Ichigo found himself surrounded by clamoring kids. "Hey hey, don't you guys think you should get out of here before they get back up?"

They glanced at the downed bullies, who were already starting to stir.

"Yeah, you're right." The speaker turned to his friends. "Wait till Karin hears about this!"

"Wait, Kurosaki Karin?"

The younger kids turned back to Ichigo. "Yeah, she's our friend. Usually she's the one to beat up the bullies."

Ichigo chuckled. "I know. She's my sister."

The kids started talking excitedly amongst themselves again, and Ichigo turned away. "You'd better get out of here before they wake up!"

They took one last look at the bullies, before taking off towards a nearby soccer field. Ichigo sighed. The whole thing had only taken five minutes, but it still meant that his trip would be more than half an hour. Rukia would be climbing up the walls before he came back. He resumed his quest to find chocolate for Rukia.

Ten minutes later, and he had reached the shop. He walked through the automatic doors of the shop and headed for the Easter section. He could have gone to the Urahara shoten, but that would have meant involving Urahara himself, and there was no way in hell he was doing that. Ichigo browsed through the chocolates. There weren't many left. Most had been taken already. He grabbed a few bags of the small solid chocolate eggs that Yuzu and Karin (and Isshin) loved snacking on, and stepped back to consider what to get Rukia. Something large on the front counter, away from the other Easter merchandise caught his eye. He grinned. It was perfect. He made his purchases and left the shop, a large plastic bag in one hand. He passed by the park he had stopped the bullies at earlier, and saw them leaning against a wall, nursing their respective injuries sullenly. Ichigo sent one of his infamous smirks their way.

Ichigo stopped outside his house and dumped the plastic bag in the bin outside, checking for price tags on the chocolates as he did. He walked through the door, dodged the customary flying kick from his father and dumped the bags of chocolate eggs in his sisters' laps.

"There you go. Express from the Easter Bunny."

Yuzu leapt up and threw her arms around his waist. "Thank you Ichi-nii!"

"Yeah, thanks Ichi." Karin opened the packet on her lap and popped an egg in her mouth after unwrapping it, her eyes not leaving the TV.

"Where's the midget?"

"She's upstairs in your room, and don't let her catch you saying that. Goat face made the mistake of comparing her height to ours and suffered for it, so I'd hate to see what would happen if you actually called her a midget to her face."

Ichigo looked back at his father, noting dark bruises on his shins. "Yeah, I'll take your advice to heart." He didn't feel like mentioning he had already discovered what happened when he did insult Rukia's height.

Ichigo stumped upstairs and shouldered his door open. "Oi, Rukia! Chocolate's here."

"Thanks, Ichigo." Rukia looked up from his bed. She was wearing a tank top and shorts. Ichigo sat down beside her.

"Something wrong? I thought you'd be jumping for joy at the arrival of chocolate—Chappy's chocolate, no less."

She smiled at him. "I am happy the chocolate is here—what I'm not happy about is that you managed to get into a fight on the way."

"Ah...you followed me?" Ichigo blinked some sweat from his eyes.

"Yes. All the way to the convenience store."

".....Sorry?" Ichigo cringed, waiting for the imminent explosion. He wasn't disappointed.

"BAKA! HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME ABOUT A GIANT CHAPPY THAT GOES AROUND GIVING OUT CHOCOLATE?!?" Rukia's verbal assault was accompanied by a slap to the back of his head. "You have no idea how disappointed I was when I realized that the Easter Bunny didn't exist." Rukia continued. Ichigo would have found the situation funny, if he wasn't the one facing imminent destruction.

"Still, I think it's nice that you went to all that trouble to make me happy."

Ichigo perked up. "So I'm forgiven?"

"Hmmm...almost. What did you get me?"

"You didn't peek at it when I bought it?"

Another slap. "No, baka! I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Ichigo brought the package out from behind his back with a smirk. It was a bunny made of white chocolate, sitting on a mound of brown chocolate along with several smaller bunnies also made of brown chocolate. There were also several small eggs scattered around the scene.

"KYAAAA! THANK YOU ICHIGO!!" Rukia threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. Ichigo smirked, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Glad you liked it. Can we eat it now?"

Rukia pulled back, a fierce expression on her face. "Don't you dare! I'm keeping this for as long as I can! Hey!"

Rukia wasn't quick enough to stop Ichigo's hand from snaking forward and grabbing one of the small chocolate eggs. He popped it into his mouth, savouring the taste.

"Ichigo! That is my chocolate! You spit that out right this instant!"

Ichigo shook his head, making sounds of enjoyment as he swallowed the egg. He snagged another, popping the second one into his mouth. Rukia's eyes widened in disbelief. Then they became crafty.

"So, you won't spit it out?" Ichigo shook his head. "Fine, I'll just have to get it out myself then."

Ichigo raised his hands defensively, not wanting Rukia to shove her hands down his throat in an attempt to retrive the chocolate. He was caught completely unprepared when Rukia leant over, resting her chest on his own, and placing a delicate kiss on his lips. Without thinking, Ichigo responded, the kiss becoming more passionate. Without warning, Rukia leant back, with an expression that would have put a Cheshire cat to shame. It was only then that Ichigo realized she had stolen the egg.

"Mmmmm, you're right Ichigo...they are good."

Rukia gave a small shriek as Ichigo pounced on her, pinning her arms and placing his lips on her own, determined to win the egg back. She wrapped her legs around him.

Yep...Best. Easter. Ever.


	4. Misguided Plans, Part I

Dedicated to DeviantHollow23, who literally drowned me with ideas after my Authors Notice. Thanks for the input, and I've tried to combine all the ideas into the one story. Hope you enjoy, this is the first of the mini-series **Misguided Plans.** Enjoy.

**Misguided Plans, Part I**

Several shadowy figures watched as the two shinigami, one tall with orange hair, the other vertically challenged with dark bangs fluttering across her face, entered the school grounds and made their way towards the building that would hold their classes for the day.

"It's so obvious…" A figure at the side muttered, adjusting his glasses with one finger.

"Don't say that! I will be the one to win Kuchiki-san's heart!" A brown haired student jumped up and down at the centre of the group.

"Keigo, I don't think you had a chance from the beginning." The normally quiet Chad's voice responded deeply.

"Kuchiki-san isn't my type, so I'll help out…" The last figure, a girl wearing red glasses stated brightly. "And once Kurosaki and Kuchiki are together, Hime-chan will turn to me!"

"Trust you to put it in those terms…" The first figure, Ishida Uryuu, grumbled to himself.

"Hey! Who's talking about Nee-san and the woman with the glorious valley of gods?!"

The four of them, Ishida, Chad, Keigo and Chizuru turned to face the newcomer. Dressed in a school uniform, he resembled Ichigo but was obviously not him. He stood in a different manner, and wore a decidedly perverted grin, accompanied by bleached orange hair, rather than natural.

Ishida examined the new arrival closely. "…Kon?!"

Kon smirked. "The one and only. And it sounds like you guys are scheming about Nee-san! What are you planning?"

Chizuru and Keigo excitedly explained their scheme to him. At the end of their explanation, Ishida spoke up once again.

"So you all know what to do?"

They nodded.

"Wait, what about me?" The mod-soul whined. "What can I do?"

Ishida considered him. "I believe….you should stick with Keigo."

Chad shuddered at the thought of Keigo and Kon working together, but kept his thoughts to himself. They split up and implemented the first stage of their plan.

"I really want to tell him Tatsuki, but I don't know who!"

Tatsuki listened patiently as Orihime confided in her. She knew that Orihime had maintained a one sided crush on Ichigo for a long time now, but had still not made any move to act on it.

"Maybe you should just straight out tell him about it. See how he reacts." Tatsuki knew that Ichigo didn't even spare a second glance for any girl other than Rukia, and that it would be a good thing for Orihime to get him out of her system.

"But what if he doesn't like me?" She was on the verge of becoming tearful.

"Then he isn't worth spending any more time on. There are plenty of other guys out there." Tatsuki responded practically.

Orihime looked thoughtful, and was about to respond when two arms snaked their way around her body and pulled her into a suffocating embrace. Tatsuki could only stare in amazement as the 'blessings' of the woman holding Orihime threatened to cut off her air supply—from behind. Orihime saw Tatsuki prepare to respond with the typical violence she usually displayed when someone grabbed her, when the arms were withdrawn.

"Orihime! What are you doing in class on a day like this?"

"Rangiku-san!" Orihime turned in surprise. "I'minclassbecausewehavetogotoschooltolearnand…"

Rangiku cut Orihime off with another bone crushing hug, and not a few male members of the class were suffering from a severe case of nose bleeds. Once she let go, Orihime a question to her.

"But why are you here? Shouldn't you be—"

Matsumoto leaned in and whispered conspiratorially to Inoue. "It's the annual stock take day for 10th Squad supplies, so I'm hiding here for a few days." The busty woman brightened. "How are things going with you and that orange headed spunk? Made you move since you told me about how you felt for him?"

Inoue made no reply and Matsumoto took that as a no. "Well, I'll make it my mission to make Ichigo yours while I'm here!"

Tatsuki could only stare at her suddenly bubbling friend and her overly enthusiastic mentor. This was not going to end well.

Ichigo walked through his classroom door, and immediately frowned when he saw how many of his classmates eyes were on him. He shrugged it off and approached his seat….only to suffer from a mild heart attack when he saw who was chatting to Inoue. He let out a loud yell.

"Rangiku-san!"

Ichigo cursed when he saw that now all eyes in the classroom were on him.

"Hey Kurosaki, you know this chick?"

"Kurosaki, put in a good word for me!"

"Kurosaki, I'll be you slave if you hook me up with her!"

"Kurosaki, marry me!"

The shouts coming from around the classroom left Ichigo blinking in confusion, but the last one snapped him back to reality. He scowled and the class fell silent for a second, before returning to their previous conversations, as Ichigo approached Matsumoto with Rukia at his side.

**(A/N: Apologies for the dose of crack. Will attempt to keep it 'real' from here on.)**

"Rangiku-san, what are you doing here?"

Rangiku winked at him before replying. "I'm on vacation! My 'boss' kept piling me up with work, so I took off!"

Ichigo's scowl receded slightly, as he pictured an angry Toushirou screaming bloody murder.

Matsumoto noticed Rukia standing next to Ichigo, and called out a greeting. "Rukia! How's things? Have you heard from any of your noble admirers from back home?"

Noble admirers? Ichigo's scowl was back in full force. He'd be personally greeting any noble admirers that wanted to see Rukia.

"No, I haven't heard from any puppets seeking to curry Kuchiki favour." Rukia replied in her sickly sweet 'oh-so-innocent' voice. Ichigo felt better knowing that she didn't have any interest—wait, so there _were_ admirers? His scowl deepened even further, if that was at all possible.

As Ichigo and Rukia finally made it to their own desks, the scowl became a full blown expression of murderous intent. A small frown tugged at Rukia's face too.

The desk next to Ichigo's, the one that Rukia customarily sat in, had died a most horrible death. There was gum stuck all over it, and deep gouges across the surface, making it impossible to use. Ichigo cast his gaze around for a replacement, seeing one located toward the front of class in the middle of a group of guys including Ishida, Chad, Keigo (didn't he sit at the back of the class?) and a kid who Ichigo didn't recall ever seeing before.

"I'll just grab that one." Ichigo made to pick the desk up, but found that it was stuck fast to the floor. "Shit…" He couldn't move the destroyed desk, but damned if he was going to let Rukia sit in the near a kid he didn't know and Keigo. "I'll sit over there, you can have my seat."

"No, don't worry yourself over me, Kurosaki-kun." Rukia seemed determined to taunt him with that voice. "I'll go sit with Keigo-kun and Ishida-san."

Ichigo felt something stir inside him, but shook it off. He wasn't jealous. Not a chance. Not over the midget. Definitely not the midget that he's shared so many experiences with, had risked his life for…definitely not.

"Fine, I'll sit here. See you at lunch." Ichigo slumped down into his own desk, missing the disheartened look that Rukia gave him. No sooner had she sat in her new seat than Keigo and the new kid began to crowd her, pestering her with questions and offers of help, with anything at all.

Keigo couldn't believe his luck. He had been given the go ahead to lay down his charm on Kuchiki-san by Chad and Ishida. And with his new-found wingman, he was going to do just that.

"So Kuchiki-san, is there anything you need? Anything at all?"

Rukia gave a small laugh, and replied in an angelic tone of voice. "No thank you, Asano-kun. I'm quite alright. Thank you for the kind offer."

The new kid, Kon, tried his luck. "What about homework? Do you need to look over my answers?" Kon gave her a perverted grin. "Maybe I could give you some private lesson, Nee-san?"

Kon almost cowered under his desk when he saw a flash of a look he knew so well in Rukia's eyes. He would much prefer to be enveloped by the two goddesses at the back of the class room, but the Quincy had told him that he only had permission to bug Rukia while Ichigo could see, so that was what he intended to do.

Ichigo stiffened when he heard how the new kid addressed his Rukia. He examined him intensely, taking note of the similarities between the new kid and himself, and the expression he wore, as well as the bleached hair.

Nee-san…

Wait, Kon?!?


	5. Misguided Plans, Part II

**Misguided Plans Part II**

Ichigo stiffened when he heard how the new kid addressed his Rukia. He examined him intensely, taking note of the similarities between the new kid and himself, and the expression he wore, as well as the bleached hair.

Nee-san…

Wait, Kon?!?

If it was possible to kill with a look, Ichigo would have been a mass murderer by this point. When he saw Keigo reverantly stroke Rukia's arm, that was the last straw. He leapt to his feet, intending to throttle Keigo, just as the bell rang. Ichigo found himself caught up in a press of students heading for the door and freedom.

Ichigo sulked by the door, waiting for Rukia to come out. He was suddenly confronted by four rather large...assets...and found himself being dragged away. Rangiku and Orihime both threw an arm around him, pulling him enthusiastically towards the roof.

"Inoue! Rangiku-san! What the hell?"

"Stop arguing Ichigo, we're going to show you the time of your life!" Rangiku's comment caused a large number of jaws to drop in the local vicinity, as well as a few spontaneous cheers for Ichigo's soon-to-be conquest.

Rukia stepped out of the classroom just in time to see Ichigo led off by Rangiku and Orihime. She overheard a conversation between two nearby students.

"Man, that Kurosaki is so lucky. Did you hear the new chick and Inoue-san telling him they were going to show him a good time?" The first student shook his head ruefully.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe that. Sounds like he has some history with the new chick though, maybe he's been there before?" The second guy gave a lewd wink to his friend.

A wave of resentment rose within Rukia. How dare Matsumoto stroll in and interfere with Ichigo's life like that! She wasn't acting like a jealous girlfriend, no, far from that, she was just concerned with Ichigo's well being. That woman could be dangerous, especially if she tried to give you a hug. There was a wing reserved at the fourth squad purely for victims of Matsumoto's hugs.

Wait, Ichigo couldn't be _jealous_, surely? Rukia thought back over the short lesson. Ishida had complimented her on her smile (a smile brought on when she remembered the antics she and Ichigo had gotten up to in this very classroom), Chad had broken into new territory and said she looked cute, and Keigo was overdramatic as usual, except he had actually had the nerve to _touch_ her. If the bell hadn't rung when it did, there would have been blood. Rukia wasn't sure about the new guy, but something about him was familiar, and she didn't trust him one bit. He also called her Nee-san, which was a bit disturbing. She didn't notice that while she thought, the rest of the group dropped behind her slightly.

"How did you get Orihime involed with the plan?" Ishida asked in a whisper.

"I didn't! That new girl, Rangiku, is doing it all on her own! I think Orihime is for real!" Chizuru let out a small sob.

"Tatsuki won't let them get carried away." Chad stated confidently.

"This will make things complicated..." Ishida shook his head as he indicated for them to catch up with Rukia.

The two groups sat seperately on the roof, eating lunch while studiously ignoring each other.

"Here, Kurosaki-kun, try my ramen with fish shaped bread coated in red bean paste!"

Ichigo's face took on a slightly greenish tinge, as he tried to refuse politely. Rangiku wasn't having any of that.

"Come on Ichigo, Orihime made it specially for you!"

"Sorry Inoue, my sister gets upset it I don't eat her lunch..." Ichigo lied.

"Oh ok..." She sounded disappointed. Then she brightened. "You can take some home with you then!"

Tatsuki sighed, and Ichigo shuddered.

"Here Kuchiki-san, let me get that for you!" Keigo grabbed Rukia's lunch out of her hands, before opening and spreading it haphazardly in front of her.

"Th-thank you, Asano-kun." Rukia replied sweetly, even though she was reaching the end of her patience. She reached for her eating utensils, only that have them snatched from her hands by the new kid.

"Let me feed you Nee-san!"

Ishida rubbed his temples. He was regretting giving Kon free reign on Rukia.

Rukia watched incredulously as the annoying bleach headed kid lifted the food towards her mouth. If she hit him, she would have to deal with all sorts of uncomfortable questions. She saw Ichigo rise abruptly from where he was sitting with Orihime.

"Excuse me!" Without another word she leapt up, leaving Kon to overbalance in his quest to feed her. She looked at Ichigo and made sure he was watching, before walking around the corner, out of sight of the rest of their friends. They watched with interest as Ichigo followed her.

"I wonder why Kurosaki-kun suddenly turned so green? It couldn't have been my ramen with red bean paste and mayonnaise sandwhich."

Everyone within hearing distance blanched at the description of the food, with the exception of Kon, who volunteered to try it quickly. Orihime leaned forward and held the suspicious concoction up for Kon to each. He took a bite and his eyes began watering, either from the horrid taste or by being fed by Orihime, they couldn't tell. When Kon's hands began to move upwards, he felt a sudden pain shoot through his hand.

Kon looked nervously at Ishida, who had just sent a lightning fast Quincy arrow through the palm of his faux body. He gulped and held his hands safely in his lap while Orihime fed him the rest of her creation.

"Today has been weird..." Ichigo was sitting against the wall next to Rukia, looking at their feet.

"It has been a strange day." Rukia agreed.

"You don't think...?" Ichigo trailed off.

"They're trying to make us jealous? Yeah, I do."

"Imagine if they knew what we'd gotten up to on Inoue's chair. Can you picture their faces?" Ichigo chuckled.

Further banter was cut off by the beeping of Rukia's spirit phone and the shrieking of Ichigo's shinigami badge. Rukia swallowed a gikongan and Ichigo slammed the badge down on his chest, springing free of his body. He stretched out his shoulders as Rukia told Pyon to guard their bodies and make it look like nothing was wrong. Pyon chirped happily and pulled Ichigo's head onto her lap.

The two shinigami arrived at the location specified by Rukia's spirit phone, only to find a severe lack of Hollow's. Ichigo was annoyed.

"Where the hell is it?"

"I don't know! The order says it should be here!" Rukia added a kick in the shins for extra effect.

The next second they were both covered in a warm red slime. They stared at each other in horror and disgust and looked in the direction of the attack.

An Adjuchas with a cocky smirk on its face lowered its arm, red slime dripping from its hand revealing it as the culprit. "Now we're gonna have some fun."

"Damn right we are." Ichigo growled.

"Bastard." Rukia added.

The Hollow's eyes widened in surprise. They weren't supposed to act like that after being coated by his attack.

The two shinigami shook the red slime off themselves, before focusing on the enemy once more.

They spoke as one.

"Getsuga..."

"Tsugi no Mae..."

"Tenshou!"

"Hakuren!"

Two seperate attacks flew towards roared towards the doomed Hollow. Rukia's Hakuren collided with Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou, and began to glow a brilliant blue. The combined attack impacted with the enemy, and when the dust cleared, there was no trace of it remaining.

"That was cool..." Ichigo observed.

"We combined our attacks! That's really rare you know." Rukia was positively glowing.

"Really?"

"Yeah, only the closest nakama, or..." Rukia blushed. "lovers can pull that off."

A cocky grin spread made itself known across Ichigo's face. "Nice." He glanced around. "I'd say we should go into that building over there for a bit of fun, but we really need to get back to class." He pulled a disappointed face.

"Yeah..." Rukia's disappointment matched his own.

Several minutes later they were back at school and back in their bodies. Ichigo quickly stood up and stretced, easing out the kinks in his body, while Rukia stamped her legs to return feeling to them. They had been on their own away from their friends for close to twenty minutes now, and that was more than long enough to start gossip.

Ichigo and Rukia stepped around the corner to head back to their friends, but pulled up short. The moment they had rounded the corner, every eye on the rooftop had focused on them, and everyone watching breated in simultaneously.

Ichigo was disturbed to see all the males watching Rukia with a fawning look, and Rukia was equally disturbed to see all the females look at Ichigo like he was a piece of meat.

The two of them eyed each other nervously as the other students all took a step towards them. This was going to be bloody.


	6. Misguided Plans, Part III

The two of them eyed each other nervously as the other students all took a step towards them. This was going to be bloody.

All activity on the rooftop had ceased, save the countless sets of eyes staring hungrily at Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo saw Keigo take a step forward, drooling out of the side of his mouth. Ichigo took on a furious expression when he saw many of the guys rubbing themselves while staring at _his_ Rukia. He raised his fists and took up a defensive position in front of her, scowling heavily.

Given a clear view at Ichigo, a low moan issued from the women currently undressing him with their eyes. Rukia growled viciously and took her place at Ichigo's side.

The mob took another step towards the two, and Ichigo could make out Ishida, Mizuiro, Inoue and Rangiku amongst the mob approaching them. Ichigo gulped. No way was he dealing with a horny Rangiku.

Ichigo hauled Rukia from her feet, carrying her bridal style. He charged at the door to freedom, making sure to trample any guys who reached out to grab Rukia on his way. He kicked the door down, and literally flew down the stairs in his haste to escape.

"Dammit Ichigo, I can walk you know." Rukia gritted out.

"Your short legs wouldn't be able to keep up, midget." Ichigo snorted. "Argh!"

Rukia had bitten his arm, the only thing she could do from her current position.

Ichigo smirked. "Never knew you liked kinky stuff like that."

"Oh, you have no idea." It was barely a whisper.

Ichigo choked hard.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ichigo burst through the doors to the main courtyard in front of the school, and pulled up short. There was a group of five seniors loitering at the front gate, and the second Ichigo had entered the vicinity, their heads had snapped in their direction, a hungry look in their eyes.

"What the hell is this?" Ichigo complained, setting Rukia down. "It's like we're a friggin magnet for hormones."

The seniors approached. "Hey there chickey babe, you ready for a good ride?" The largest of the five sneered suggestively and Ichigo snapped.

Ichigo leapt through the air, planting his foot square in the middle of the senior's chest. Two of his fellows ignored Ichigo completely, heading straight for Rukia. Ichigo clipped one of his remaing two opponents in the temple with his elbow, before grabbing the last guys head and butting him viciously.

Rukia finally had a target to vent the rage that had built up when she saw the way Inoue had been looking at Ichigo on the rooftop. The airhead needed to get it into her head, past all the silly fantasies and weird food recipes, that Ichigo was _out of bounds_.

Smiling politely, Rukia allowed the first senior to come close enough to reach out to grab her chest...before kicking him savagely in the nuts. He doubled over in pain without ever coming close to his target.

The second foe was craftier—or maybe just more cautious. He circled around Rukia while Ichigo dealt with his friends, looking for an opening. Rukia let him see one, and quickly darted to the side as he charged forward. She stepped forward to meet him, jamming two fingers into the base of his throat, just below his Adam's Apple. His hands flew to his throat and he collapsed to the ground, choking.

Ichigo sauntered over to her, admiring her handiwork. He offered his hand to her. She took it and smiled....just as Chad walked out the door. Ichigo scowled. Fuck. He really didn't want to fight Chad.

"Hey, Ichigo."

"Hey..." Ichigo replied cautiously. "How come you're not trying to jump us?"

Chad shrugged. "I'm not affected like the others."

"Is anyone following us?" Rukia wanted to know.

"It's calming down a bit up there. Keigo is still just as bad though. We had to restrain him." Chad explained in his deep voice.

Neither of them felt the need to ask how he was 'restrained'.

"Kon wasn't affected either." Chad continued.

"Kon?" Rukia demanded.

"Ha, I knew it was him!" Ichigo crowed victoriously.

"You should stay away from anyone else for a while." Chad advised.

"Good idea. Thanks Chad." Ichigo replied.

"Are you going to be able to keep your hands off each other?" Chad asked bluntly.

"Uh, yeah, we haven't been affected by whatever is making everyone else focus on us." Ichigo scratched his head. No, they hadn't been affected by whatever it was. They were like that normally.

"Ok." Chad turned and walked back into the building.

"I think that's the most I've ever heard him say at one time." Rukia seemed slightly shell shocked by the conversation.

"Sado only talks when it's important." Ichigo shrugged. "Now what're we gonna do for the rest of the day?"

Rukia gave him a very direct look. "I can think of a few things."

Ichigo pulled on her hand. "There's a wooded area only two minutes from here." He said hungrily.

"I like that idea." She smirked. "But first, Urahara."

"Rukia!" It was a whine.

"No. I'm not risking having us interrupted and then having to flee whoever comes across us." Rukia's voice was stern.

"I could knock them out." He was pleading with her now.

"Anymore arguing, and I'll send you on Hollow patrol for the rest of the day while I take care of things myself!" Rukia gave him a final warning, and Ichigo decided to shut up fast.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They were a block away from the Urahara Shoten when Ichigo decided to voice his concerns.

"What if they have the same reaction as everyone eles?" His tone was worried.

"I'm sure Urahara will be able to control himself." Rukia replied confidently.

"He's not the one I'm worried about. What if Yoruichi-san is there?"

They stopped at the door of the Shoten, and Rukia considered Ichigo's words before replying. "That's a risk I'm prepared to take." It was accompanied by a smirk.

Ichigo wore an outraged expression as Rukia knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately, revealing a grinning Urahara, with Yoruichi at his side in human form.

"Hello my favourite customers, how can--" He paused, taking in a deep breath. His eyes focused on Rukia, while Yoruichi was having the same reaction, but focusing on Ichigo. He gulped, and a rabbit frozen in headlights would have looked on him with scorn.

"Well, hello my favourite customers. May I show you the _full_ _range_ of _unique services_ that my business partner and I are prepared to offer you?"

Urahara and Yoruichi both took a step forward and Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other nervously. This was not good.

**What'd you think? Any good? Only one more chapter in this mini-series now...hope you enjoyed it. And as always, the chapter was dedicated to DeviantHollow, the one who gave me the ideas for the plot. Hope it's panning out well for you!**

**And remember, I take requests, so after this mini-series is finished, I'll do another one. Please review!**


	7. Lemon: Misguided Plans, Part IV

Urahara and Yoruichi both took a step forward and Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other nervously. This was not good.

Yoruichi leapt onto Ichigo, causing him to fall backwards with her stradling him. She leaned in, licking her lips seductively....

And then burst into hysterical laughter.

"K-Kisuke! They thought we were for real!"

Urahara was chortling from his place near the door, supporting himself against it, and Rukia was glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"This is not a laughing matter! We've been hounded by horny humans all the way from Ichigo's school!"

Urahara continued chortling. "We know! We've been watching since you fled from the school rooftop."

"Why the hell were you watching us at school?" Ichigo demanded, standing up as Yoruichi got to her feet.

"Oh, you know, we just happened to be in the neighbourhood." Urahara replied flippantly.

Ichigo fixed him with a hard stare. "So you can tell us why the hell we've got people chasing us down?"

Yoruichi snorted. "You haven't guessed?"

Ichigo shook his head slowly.

"You fought a Hollow before. Its attack caused all this."

"You said you were only watching us from school!"

Urahara shrugged. "I lied."

"Temeh...."

"Can you get rid of whatever is causing the effect?" Rukia asked quickly, before Ichigo had any urges to do violence upon Urahara's person.

"Nope." Urahara shrugged, but quickly continued when Ichigo began to growl at him. "But I know how you can."

"How?" Both victims demanded immediately.

"Kill the Hollow that caused it."

_CRACK_

Ichigo was standing over Urahara's now prone form, shaking his fist. "We already did that! You said you were there for the fight!"

"Well, you'll just have to wait for the effects to wear off then." Yoruichi told them in an amused tone.

"Gee, thanks a bunch." Ichigo replied sarcastically. "How come you guys aren't affected anyway?"

Urahara stood up, blood trickling through the fingers clasped to his nose. "It's because we're so much more strong willed than others!" He managed to maintain his sing-song voice, despite the injuries to his face.

"And because we would much rather do each other." Yoruichi added with a wink.

Ichigo and Rukia turned slightly red. "We don't need to know that." Ichigo huffed.

"Still as shy as ever." Yoruichi laughed, causing Rukia to give Ichigo a sly look. If only they knew.

"So we have to wait around until this thing wears off?" Ichigo asked in a frustrated voice.

Urahara winked slyly. "Well, there's no rules as to what you have to do while you wait around. If you and Rukia-chan want to get busy..."

Rukia grabbed Icihgo's arm to stop him giving Urahara another crack, as the shop owner ran to hide behind Yoruichi, poking his tongue at Ichigo.

"We'll be going now, Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san." Rukia told them firmly.

Ichigo and Rukia opted to take the backstreets on the return to Ichigo's house, unwilling to risk mobs of hormonal men and women pursuing them. The slipped furtively down Ichigo's street after sprinting most of the way, Ichigo thankful that his father was out for the day and his sisters at school. They were sweating heavily as they passed through the front door, courtesy of a key hidden outside.

Rukia found herself checking out Ichigo from behind, the majority of her attention focused on his—in her opinion—well formed ass. He turned suddenly, catching her in the act.

"So—shower?" Direct and to the point.

Rukia grinned, shedding her sweaty shirt on the couch. She enjoyed the way Ichigo's eyes still bulged slightly whenever she removed her clothing around him. She turned, walking up the stairs provocatively. Ichigo watched her move, enjoying the show.

When she was halfway up, Rukia slowly reached back, undoing her bra. She let it fall on the stairs, glancing back over her shoulder to check Ichigo's reaction. She was not disappointed.

Ichigo was transfixed by Rukia's actions, frozen in place. When he saw Rukia slowly unzip her skirt, letting it fall down her creamy legs and to the floor, before stepping out of it, he realized he had a very pressing appointment in the bathroom along with Rukia.

Rukia stepped out of her panties as she ran the shower at a warm temperature. She could feel her skin tingling as she waited behind the door for Ichigo to walk though the door. Oh, how she wanted him. But she would wait, she would make him want her as much as she wanted him—more.

The second Ichigo walked through the door, Rukia pounced. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she ran her hands over his chiseled chest, revelling in the feeling of satisfaction that welled up within her when she felt Ichigo's body tighten and shiver at her touch.

Rukia gripped the hem of his shirt and lifted upwards, revealing the chest that she had been running her hands over seconds previously. Ichigo turned, taking in her body with hungry eyes. The way he looked at her—like he couldn't believe she was his.

Ichigo ran his arms up Rukia's sides, but was thwarted when she gently pushed his arms away.

"You can look, but you can't touch...yet." She told him teasingly.

She began to place small butterfly kisses on his chest, slowly working her way down his body. The soft hair of his snail-trail tickled her lips as she paused around his navel, enjoying the way he reacted to her attentions—and his reaction was very noticeable.

With mischevious smile, Rukia slowly undid his belt buckle, before sliding the belt out from around his waist. Slowly—oh so slowly, she unbuttoned his pants, before pulling down his zipper. It gave a low purr, and so did she, when she pulled his underwear down with his pants, allowing his erect shaft to spring free.

Ichigo groaned when he felt her warm breath on him, torturing him. It was taking all of his will power not to grab her, enter her, and have his way with her right then and there. His 'ordeal' was worsened when Rukia began to run her tongue along his length, swirling it around the head. There was a shot of pleasure, and just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.

Rukia took his length in her mouth, swallowing him up to the hilt.

Ichigo grasped her head as she began to bob up and down on his shaft, swirling her tongue around the head as she removed her warm mouth from his cock. Forcefully, he shoved her head back down, and Rukia gave no complaint as she swallowed him again. She began to suck as she massaged the organ with her tongue, and Ichigo felt his knees buckling. He leant back against the closed door to support himself, revelling in the sensations that were running through his body.

"Oh-oh fuck..."

And then Rukia pulled back, leaving his cock without release. She smirked at his agonized face, and decided to put him at ease.

"You can touch, now...."

With a growl he pounced, grabbing her ass and lifting her up to his waist. His length was pressed up against her slit, and he could feel the juices dripping from her. He stepped into the shower, hot water pouring over both of them. Setting her down, Ichigo leaned forward and began to suck at her nipples, staying with her as Rukia fell against the wall.

Ichigo alternated his attention from breast to breast, causing Rukia to moan from his efforts. One hand was at the small of her back, while the other teased her wet entrance as the water pelted down on them.

Rukia arched her back, pushing her breast into Ichigo's mouth as his finger penetrated her, sliding in smoothly. It was joined by another finger, and then another, as they slid into her slick sheath. He was rewarded with a groan when he began to rub her clit with his thumb, softly, slowly.

Rukia could feel the fire building inside her, as her eyes rolled back in her head. Whatever control she had over the situation had vanished the second she gave Ichigo permission to touch her, and he had taken full advantage of this lapse.

"I-Ichigo.....please..." Rukia panted softly.

Ichigo raised his head and replied with a grin, drawing his fingers out of her. Deliberately, he licked one of them clean, before placing the other two in Rukia's own mouth. Obediently, she suckled at them, tasting her own juices. He brought his mouth to her own, tongues dueling for supremacy.

She gasped as he entered her in one smooth movement, filling her completely. Rukia glanced down and saw that he was buried to the hilt. A perfect fit. She raised her legs, supporting herself completely on his cock, and wrapped them around his waist.

Slowly at first, but then gaining speed, Ichigo began to thrust into her, sending shivers throughout her body. The shivers turned to tremors as she gripped his length inside of her, and she drew herself against him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her nails scratching down his back leaving angry red trails.

It was good, too good. Ichigo began to twist his hips slightly, entering Rukia's body at a slightly different angle, and she bit back a scream as he hit her G-spot. He began to play with her clit as he pounded her unmercyfully, steaming water around them all the while, increasing the sensation.

But then it was all too much, and Rukia was launched off the edge of the abyss, all sensation lost except that emanating from her filled and throbbing pussy. She rode her orgasm as she continued to ride Ichigo's cock, and the twitching and spasming of her muscles sent him over the edge in turn.

With a roar, he erupted inside her, his eyes fixed on her face. Lost in his own orgasm, her was still able to watch Rukia in her own. He loved the way her eyes lost focus, and the way the blush on her cheeks highlighted her eyes. He loved watching her come back to earth, and he loved the look in her eyes when she realized he had been watching her throughout.

Ichigo leaned against her, both of them breathing deeply, pinning her body against the wall as he remained inside her. The warm water continued to fall upon them, washing their juices away as it trickled out of Rukia.

"That....that was....fun." Ichigo panted.

Rukia's expression became incredulous. "Fun? I licked my own juices from your fingers and all you can say is 'fun'?!?"

Ichigo cut off all protests as he sealed her lips with his own, before pulling back and wiggling his eyebrow suggestively. "Well, maybe we should relocate to the bedroom so we can go again and I can give you another word for it."

Rukia responded to the challenge, a smirk appearing on her face. "You can go again so soon?"

"Damn right." He leaned in and nipped her ear lightly.

Rukia pinched him in reply, before pausing. "Ichigo, what about the Hollow problem?"

"Who cares? We have food, water, and a comfortable place to sleep together. Far as I'm concerned, they can all go hang."

**And that's the end of the miniseries. Hope you all enjoyed it, if it did take forever to finish. Once again, I'm open to requests, but this story is secondary to Enemies and Traitors Promise. **

**Once again, cheers to DeviantHollow23 for the story prompt. Could probably have had this series all in one chapter, but.....I'm a lazy bastard. So deal with it.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	8. Witchcraft: Judgment

**Judgment**

Ichigo sunk the axe into the final shard of wood with a satisfying thud. Wiping his brow, he flicked a lock of orange hair from his eyes and grabbed the now cleanly cut sections of wood, carrying them to the existing pyramid before leaning down to nestle them securely on top.

He straightened up, working the kinks out of his powerful muscles. Ichigo looked to the west and shaded his eyes against the harsh afternoon sun, spying movement on the ridge that marked the edge of his village. For a split second, he tensed, but then recalled that the headman's son, Gin, and the village Priest, Father Aizen, had ventured out to the nearby Druidic Circle the previous night in hopes of catcing the witch responsible for the blight spreading through the local livestock.

Straining his eyes further, Ichigo could make out a small, slight figure bound between them, but the glaring sun made it impossible to determine further details.

Ichigo frowned, a scowl crossing his solid face. Ever since Father Aizen had arrived, the zealot had been guiding the town down a vicious path, shaping the order of things to suit his own desires. The town was gaining a reputation for witch burnings, giving other villages pause when choosing to deal with them. Unfortunately, the townspeople were all too eager to fit into the shape of how Father Aizen believed the town should conduct itself.

There were raised voices fluttering past his dwelling,and Ichigo sighed heavily. _So it begins._ He had never attended a witch burning, but something felt...different about this one. He strode into his thatched roof cottage, dousing the smoldering fireplace before he made to leave. Yet something made him pause.

Unsure why, but confident in his decision all the same, Ichigo hefted the heavy blade down from its resting place on his wall, gripping the handle with calloused hands. Expertly, he slung it over his back, feeling more secure in the face of his meeting with the unknown witch.

As Ichigo stalked along the muddy streets of his village, all those hurrying in the same direction gave him a wide berth. He looked older than his fifteen going on sixteen years, and more intimidating than his position of youngest warrior in the village would suggest.

Dusk had fallen, and the only illumination provided now was that cast by the ruddy glow of the tar pitch torches. Ichigo pondered how the witch would appear. That it was a woman was undoubted in his mind, as he had been weaned on tales of scary old hags and vicious wrinkled crones. He supposed she would have a wart or two, a crooked nose and ratty, grey hair. She might walk with a limp, and snarl savagely at any children who came too close. Ichigo ducked down to enter the village hall, his eyes searching for the captive witch.

He felt his throat constrict painfully as his heart began hammering away wildly.

She was perfect. That was the only description befitting someone like her. Soft, dark hair, that fell to her shoulders, framing her delicate face. Her eyes were wide and luminous, a vivid shade of violet. The brows just above them were strong and set despite their fragile appearance. Her cheekbones were shaped gently, complimenting her features rather than offsetting them. Her mouth was set in a mocking curve, a bitter twist as she stared down the townspeople before her as she sat in chains taking away some of her beauty. She was clad in a dark robe, a robe that lacked the hood or hat so typical in the tales. Chained to the chair as she was, Ichigo could see that she was barefoot, the robes ending high enough that he could make out a pair of incredibly pale calves, skin as pale as that of her face.

As if sensing his gaze, she looked in his direction, earning a blush for her troubles. Any easiness was stripped from the room as Father Aizen made his grand entrance, flanked by his sycophant Ichimaru Gin and Gin's father, the headman Yamamoto.

"The witch will state her name for the people." Father Aizen's silky voice pierced the room.

"My name is Rukia." She replied calmly, not at all cowed by her situation.

Mutterings ran through the room, sparked by the blatant difference in the witch's name. One villager distinctly called out, "A witch's name!".

The witch's voice rose, full of scorn, and Ichigo found himself admiring her even more. "You mock my name? Your own leader, his son and your priest carry foreign names and ye have the nerve to mock me?"

"The witch will be silent!" Yamamoto's voice boomed out over the congregation.

"The witch will not be silent! You persecute me and my kind because this man," Rukia indicated Aizen with a twist of her head, "has had bad dreams at night about us! You persecute us according to your beliefs because you fear us, because we are the unknown! Perhaps if you stopped burning us at every chance, we could live together without prejudice!" Rukia finished with a challenge.

For a moment, all was silent in the wake of the petite woman's tirade, Ichigo amazed at her courage.

But then the dam broke.

"SHE ADMITS IT!! BURN HER!!" Gin shrieked as he pointed an accusing finger, caught up in religious fervor.

With a surge, the mod charged forward, grabbing Rukia roughly. Ichigo could do nothing as she was pawed, spat on, kicked and groped as she was manhandled through the crowd. He found himself behind Father Aizen and Gin as they gripped Rukia's shoulders on the way to the prepared stake, pushed along in the angry mob.

The chant of 'Burn the witch, burn the witch' was repeated over and over as Rukia was led to the stake like a trophy, the chains around her feet causing her to stumble every few paces, only to be roughly forced up again by her captors. Rage was slowly building within Ichigo, a rage that permeated every fiber of his being as he watched the small woman slapped and taunted. Numerous villagers had produced crude makeshift weapons in the form of pitchforks and cudgels, adding to the frenzy.

Ichigo's fury came close to besting him as the stake came into view, wood already piled up around its base. Rukia was pushed forward towards it, screaming her defiance.

"You are murderers! Hunting down, capturing and burning my kin like the demons you claim not to believe in! Slayers of innocents! My people will not forgive you, nor will our gods!"

An unholy fire was lit in Aizen's eyes as he produced a long, cruel looking dagger from his habit, grinning manically as he plunged the blade deep into Rukia's shoulder.

And Ichigo snapped.

His roar of defiance burst across the crowd, sending them into a stunned silence for the barest of seconds. Shocked protests erupted as he charged forward, his face alight with with intent as he surged towards the witch held between Aizen and Gin, surprise showing clearly in her eye's alongside the pain.

Villagers thew themselves in his way, but none could stand before the might of Kurosaki Ichigo. Weapons were wielded in vain as he cleaved through all in his way with the powerful black and white blade, blood spraying from open wounds.

A fierce light was burning in Ichigo's eyes as he fought his way to Rukia, determined to see her rescued. His eyes focused wholly on Rukia, closing off all else, before sliding to the smirking man at her side. A red mist veiled his sight as he released another hollow roar, his wrath focused upon Father Aizen.

Naively, Father Aizen raised his long dagger, intending to block the overhanded blow that was rushing towards him. He grinned, the last expression that would cross his foul face, as the metal of Ichigo's superior blade swept cleanly through the dagger, cleaving down through the top of his skull. With a sickening rasp, Ichigo pulled his blade out of the priest's skull, kicking the corpse away.

Ichigo sagged as he realized what he had done. He turned to face Rukia, who stood in Gin's grip with an indecipherable expression in her eyes. "Rukia, I--"

"He's possessed!! Burn the witch!! Save his soul!!"

"NO!!" The scream tore from Ichigo's throat even as he was overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers, held down by the bodies upon him. He could still see, as Rukia was forced to the stake and tied securely, forced to watch as the oil was poured and the torches thrown.

Throughout it all, Rukia was silent, staring into Ichigo's horrified amber eyes with her own violet gaze. Something within her seemed to give, and she tore her eyes away from his, her visage becoming cold and imperial.

As the flames licked hungrily at her feet, Rukia spoke her ominous words. "All here have been judged, and all of ye have been found wanting. Ye shall rue this day in winters to come, as ye shall rue your actions when ye attempt to walk amongst the trees and forests of this country. Forasmuch as ye have condemned me to death, so have ye condemned yourselves."

Rukia words chilled all present to the bone, but she was not yet finished in her judgment. "For as you give no regard to our innocent and young, none among your number shall be spared! Even the most virtuous of ye is not enough to balance the scales set against your sins!"

The flames danced higher still, as they caught on her robes. The scent of searing flesh was on the wind, as Ichigo struggled in vain to go to her.

Rukia was quiet, not allowing a single sound to escape her lips, even as her flesh acted as fuel for the fire. Ichigo was helpless to do anything but watched as the beautiful witch was slowly burnt alive before his very eyes. Moisture gathered in his eyes as he saw her face start to break, the pain showing through. She couldn't have been more than fifteen.

It took the fire five minutes to burn through Rukia's young body, and only once, at the end, did she allow herself to scream. As her cry pierced the night, Ichigo thrashed beneath under the pressure of limbs and bodies atop of him, answering with a cry of his own.

"RUKIA!"

And then there was nothing.

**X x X**

Three months had passed. Three months of grieving for a person he had never talked to, never met. Ichigo was now shunned by his fellow villagers, yet that mattered little to him.

After Rukia's burning and Aizen's death, the headman, Yamamoto had expelled his son from the village, seemingly coming to his senses. Gin had left for a nearby village at the beginning of winter, and little was heard of him until four weeks later. A hunter discovered his body clinging to the upper branches of a tree in the middle of a forest near the Druidic Circle, an expression of abject terror on his face.

He had not been the only one. Any who ventured through the forests around the village risked not coming out, and it was said that the figure of a beautiful young woman could be seen drifting through the trees.

Strangely, it was only those from Ichigo's village who seemed to find danger in the forests, all others seemingly ignored by whatever it was causing the disappearances. Soon, food became scarce, as hunters and trappers were reluctant to leave the security of the villages boundaries.

The death of Yamamoto left the villagers in disarray, unsure of how to proceed or who to replace him with. A council of 46 townspeople was elected to govern the village, and it was with the setting in of winter that they began their rule. Ichigo quickly found himself tasked with most jobs that required leaving the village, the Council appearing intent on blaming him for all their woes.

It was as a result of this that he found himself stalking through the frozen woods, his breath steaming up about him as he checked all the baits and traps for wild game.

The whisper of the trees was different now, not as inviting as it had been to him in years past. In the corner of his eye, Ichigo glimpsed a flutter of black flying through the trees. Ichigo halted. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him?

But when he caught another glimpse on the other side of the path, Ichigo knew they weren't. He rushed in the direction of the movement, determined to catch her. Each time he felt himself closing in, she would appear somewhere else, revealing more of herself each time. He finally caught sight of her face, and he knew he was right.

It was Rukia.

His breath caught in his chest as he paused, and in that moment she disappeared entirely. Ichigo sagged, bitterly disappointed. Turning, he began the trudge back to the trail.

What he saw stopped him cold. Fluttering in the wind, suspended regally just feet off the ground, was Rukia. She gazed at him without emotion, trying gain some understanding of him. Finally, she spoke.

"You are the first to try to chase me. All the others simply ran in terror." Her voice was soft and light as snow, but with an undercurrent that carried the dangers of a blizzard.

"Rukia....you're the one taking them."

The woman before him nodded slowly before speaking. "I am the one taking them. But I am no longer the girl you knew as Rukia."

"Please, take me." Ichigo pleaded. "Take me and stop drawing vengeance upon the town."

"Do you think the life of a virtuous man is enough to render the scales even?"

Ichigo eyes were downcast. "I am no virtuous man. Before you, I turned my eyes from their savagery, their murderous ways. I share their guilt, and your blood stains my hands as much as theirs. Don't consider it a sacrifice. Consider it collecting your due."

She considered this for only a moment, before floating forward and looking down upon him. Placing her ethereal fingers under his chin, she drew him towards her as she leaned down, delivering a delicate and soft kiss upon his lips.

As she pulled away, she watched as his lips turned blue, the colour spreading throughout his body. Satisfied that her due had been collected, the woman who had once been Rukia began to pull away.

But then a new presence entered the clearing, one that gave her pause. She bowed to the Druidic deity as it looked upon her and her victim. He was obviously male, and was crowned by a set of majestic antlers upon his head. He almost appeared to smile, and there was a small flurry of snow that leapt up into Ichigo's still face. His body, frozen in place, suddenly began to fade away, his flesh dissolving into thousands of tiny ice crystals.

Her violet eyes focused on her god. "Why?"

"In respect of his honor, courage, and mercy." The deity replied, beginning to fade away. "And because it was his heart's greatest desire."

She bowed once more, before turning to see an orange haired man clad in black standing where his human shell had fallen. She smiled, feeling joy for the first time in memory.

"Your name?" She asked coyly.

A hint of a smile graced his lips. "Zangetsu." He looked her in the eye, staring into her soul. "And yours?"

"Shirayuki."

Shirayuki offered her hand, leaning into the man beside her as he took it. She reveled at the way warmth seemed to wash into her at his touch, the way his large hand curled around her own.

Without another glance back, the two wood spirits began to dance through the trees.


	9. Bar Fight, Part I

Happy hour had passed, the numerous punters slowly beginning to drift away from the bar. His head full of 'God's Medicine', an orange haired man sipped quietly at his drink. God's Medicine was known by many names, such as hash, reefer, grass, ganja or pot, but to him it was always 'God's Medicine'. He was dressed in casual denim slacks and a plain, black collared shirt with a black choker around his neck, a combination that earned him numerous inspections from the female population of the club. Ichigo watched with some amusement as a gang of _uniquely_ dressed individuals slouched into the bar on either side of him, some laughing boisterously as they did so. There were thirteen of them, all wearing at least one piece of white clothing.

Ichigo watched the gang warily as they made themselves comfortable around his seat. The man who appeared to be the gang leader was sitting next to his left, a blue haired man to his right; both paying him absolutely no attention. The leader had brown hair and what could only be called a sinister demeanor despite his kindly expression. Ichigo shrugged mentally and resolved to ignore them so long as they ignored him.

Ichigo tapped his empty glass on the bar, allowing a smirk to cross his face as he called for the bartender's attention. "Oi, midget."

The woman behind the bar turned, her eyes glinting mischievously. "You called, carrot top?"

The bartender was Rukia, a cheeky twenty-something that Ichigo had gotten to know through his frequenting of the club; 'Seireitei'. Sereitei was an older club, but still extremely popular with its pulsing lights and beating music. Rukia was clad in a black shirt and tight black leather pants, always finding time to argue and dare he say 'flirt' with him, regardless of his state of mind or intoxication; although the latter usual led to intensive scoldings. She would constantly threaten to expose his love of Shakespeare and ruin his image to his fellow patrons whenever she smelt marijuana on him, yet somehow she hadn't gotten around to it just yet. The fact that he had several of her precious Chappy drawings in his possession and had threatened to expose them to her coworkers in response might've had something to do with it too.

Rukia grinned as Ichigo scowled at her. She could smell the pot on him, but decided not to make an issue of it tonight. The orange haired man was her favorite customer, even is she would never admit it to anyone, much less the man in question. She had learned of his interest in Shakespeare one night as she had been closing and he had been the last patron. Rukia looked forward to the nights where she closed up shop, as Ichigo would always stay and talk until she finished, making the task go that much faster. Unfortunately, it had been on one of these nights that Ichigo had snagged her sketchbook, nabbing it while her attention had been elsewhere.

Still, she wasn't complaining. She had 'dirt' on him, he had 'dirt' on her. Although both refused to admit said evidence was actually 'dirt'.

"Another drink. Jack Daniels and Coke, plenty of ice. On the double, shorty." Ichigo snapped his fingers with a smirk.

Rukia flicked the towel that rested around her neck at him and stuck her tongue out, before moving away to get his order. She added an extra swish of her hips as she walked just to taunt him, causing Ichigo to chuckle. They were both terrible flirts, but in this at least, he had to concede Rukia had superior skills. However, his amusement was cut short by the comment of a nearby gang member to his right.

"Bet she'd have a nice tight ass, ey Grimmjow?" The man who spoke wore an eye patch over his left eye, complimented by a crocodile's grin.

"I'd fuck her." The man named Grimmjow replied, making a few obscene thrusting gestures to where Rukia had disappeared out the back.

A third gang member interrupted them. "You'd fuck anything with tits and two legs." When the first man snorted, he continued. "Now now, Nnoitra, just because I make a valid point, there is no need for that sort of behaviour." He lectured.

"Behave this, Aaroniero." Nnoitra cupped himself and gave him the finger.

Aaroniero laughed quietly. "No, I agree. She looks like she'd be a good fuck. I think I've found who I'm taking home for the night, gentlemen."

The three gang members shared a laugh, not noticing Ichigo staring daggers. The man named Aaroniero turned in Ichigo's direction, revealing a face that could have belonged to his long lost twin. The sole difference between them was their hair colour, bright orange contrasting with night black.

Aaroniero smirked as Ichigo glared at him, refusing to be intimidated. The plan was moving along and things were starting to get interesting.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rukia hurried down a back hall towards the main office of Seireitei, her heels clacking loudly as she walked. Her night had been going well, promising to be an easy close with a friendly patron, until she had seem _him._ Now she was worried and unwilling to bring her troubles down on her friends at the club. Steeling herself, Rukia knocked twice on the oaken door to the main office and pushed it open slowly.

A middle aged white haired man looked up from the man sitting at his desk to focus on Rukia. A smile broke across his face at seeing one of his favourite employees. "Ah, Rukia, how are you?"

Rukia managed a small smile in return. "Good, Mr. Ukitake. But I need to speak to my shift manager."

Ukitake noticed her worried look, immediately becoming concerned. It took a lot to rattle Rukia, so he motioned to the man in front of him as he stood up. "I'll give you some privacy while I check on the club. Take your time."

The man sitting at Ukitake's desk, a man unnoticed by Rukia up till now, stood up as Ukitake left his office and closed the door behind him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his usual joking demeanor deserting him.

"Kaien." Rukia cleared her throat, forcing her emotions down. "Kaien, your brother is here. A lot of his friends are with him."

Kaien immediately went pale, before a furious expression crossed his face. "How many?" He demanded.

"At—at least ten." Rukia ran over their faces in her head. "There were thirteen of them including Aaroniero, but they're all sitting around an orange haired guy who comes here fairly often." She didn't mention her friendship with the man in question.

Kaien nodded tersely. "I'll call in a few of the guys." He paused, considering. "Kenpachi, too."

Rukia ran a sweaty hand through her hair. "You're calling in Kenpachi for crowd control?" She asked in surprise.

"If the full gang is here, they've come to stir up trouble. The Espada never go anywhere as a group unless they have a goal in mind." Kaien took out his phone and began to dial a few numbers. "I'd stay away from them for the rest of the night." He told her seriously, arguing internally as to whether he should tell her what he knew. "Get Ishida to cover that section of the bar. Aaroniero has tried to get you on your own before." He revealed, his conscience winning out.

A harsh gleam appeared in Rukia's eyes. "If he gets me on my own he'll be the one in trouble," she hissed.

Kaien grinned as he held his phone to his ear, ruffling her hair with his free hand. "That's my girl. Now get back down to the bar before they realize we're on to em. If we get lucky we might be able to land a few of them in jail." He commanded.

Rukia snapped a mocking salute. "Yes sir, Lieutenant!" She backed from the room, bowing all the way with a wicked grin on her face.

Kaien shook his head at her antics, before focusing on the voice in his ear. "Yo, Urahara? Hey. Yeah, here's whats going on..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ichigo swirled the alcohol around in his glass, watching the ice slowly melt. Rukia still wasn't back from wherever she had disappeared to, leaving Ichigo to be served by a nervous looking girl who's name tag read 'Momo'.

After growing tired of waiting for his drink, Ichigo had seen an old friend, Chad, at another part of the bar and made his way over, where he was served his current drink by Momo. The bar at Sereitei was in the centre of a large room, two long counters extending from a side wall and forming a path for the bartenders between them, before reaching the centre of the room where they were designed to form a large square shaped bar for the punters to sit around. Momo refused to go near or even look at the area Ichigo had come from, the gang members the most probable cause. She was now busily texting someone called 'Hyourinmaru' on her mobile from what glimpses Ichigo caught of the screen.

Looking away from the bar, Ichigo surveyed the nearby dance floor, taking note of some of the form. There was no shortage of good looking women, well endowed at that. There was a certain buxom orange haired woman dancing with an equally well endowed blonde friend that kept sending him loaded glances now and then, yet she lacked a certain something. Ichigo was not about to admit to himself that what she lacked was in point of fact something she had, namely height and large...assets.

"Hey." His line of thought was interrupted by an amused voice. "Stop ogling the women here. They don't need you harassing them."

Ichigo raised his glass. "Rukia."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "That's all I get?"

"For leaving me awaiting my drink and the return of your good self, yes." Ichigo smirked at her as he replied.

Rukia grinned back, glad that the stress she was feeling was well hidden under her cheeky mask. If she could fool Ichigo, she could fool any--

"More importantly, what happened to you? You feel stressed." Ichigo told her frankly.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "I'm not worrying about anything," she lied. "Who's your friend?" She asked, changing the subject.

Ichigo rolled his eyes in reply to her not-so-subtle change of subject. "This is Sado. Everyone calls him Chad though. We went through high school and did a stint in the army together."

This was new. "You were in the army?" Rukia asked with interest.

Ichigo shrugged. "Yeah, for a few years. I wanted to protect people, and it seemed like I could make a bigger difference in the army than the police force."

"What about you, big guy?" Rukia questioned Chad as she wiped a glass.

"I made a promise with Ichigo. The army was a way to keep it." Chad replied deeply.

Rukia blinked, then shrugged at the cryptic answer. She turned away from the two men for a moment, beckoning a fellow worker over. "Hey, Ishida."

At this, Ichigo's ears perked up.

Rukia continued on, unaware of Ichigo's interest. "Kaien asked you to cover that side of the bar." She indicated the area the Espada had claimed. "Keep an eye out," she advised.

Ishida was about to walk away, when a dry drawl distracted him.

"Hey, Ishida."

Ishida turned to face a smirking Ichigo. "Kurosaki." He greeted coolly, before making his way to the opposite side of the bar.

Ichigo was distracted by the sight of Rukia fanning the air in front of her face rapidly. He raised an eyebrow. "You ok midget?"

Rukia pretended to gag for several more seconds before replying. "The stench of testosterone is overwhelming."

Ichigo smirked at her. "I can see how I would have that affect. But as for Ishida's contribution, not so sure about that."

Rukia slapped him playfully on the arm in response. It still stung.

"Hey, Kuchiki." A tinkle of bells accompanied the greeting.

Rukia turned to the rough voice, coming face to face with a terrifying scarred visage. She grinned when she recognized who the face belonged to. "Hey there, Zaraki."

Facing the other way and finishing off the dregs of his glass, Ichigo began to choke violently.

_Zaraki Kenpachi!?! FUCK!!_


	10. Bar Fight, Part II

"_Hey, Kuchiki." A tinkle of bells accompanied the greeting._

_Rukia turned to the rough voice, coming face to face with a terrifying scarred visage. She grinned when she recognized who the face belonged to. "Hey there, Zaraki."_

_Facing the other way and finishing off the dregs of his glass, Ichigo began to choke violently. _

_**Zaraki Kenpachi!?! FUCK!!**_

"Oh? Who's this bright punk?" Kenpachi grinned maliciously as he caught sight of a familiar mop of orange hair, speaking loudly to be heard over the pumping music and voices of the other patrons.

Ichigo turned slowly in place, still seated on his chair. "Kenpachi." He greeted in a controlled voice, a bead of sweat gathering upon his brow.

Rukia grinned evilly at their greeting. It looked like they knew each other and even better, Ichigo was shitting bricks at running into the intimidating man. But, she reasoned, there were few men who could stand up to Kenpachi's fearsome stare, let along hold a casual conversation with him.

"You still owe me a rematch, Ichigo. I want a chance to even the scores."

Ichigo gulped heavily, scared out of his stupor-like state while Rukia watched on open mouthed. Ichigo had fought Kenpachi _and won?? _ The man who was occasionally stoned and usually drunk whenever she ran into him (admittedly she worked at a bar) had actually beaten _the_ Kenpachi?

"Maybe some other time." Ichigo sweated. Chad drew his gaze away from a pretty silver haired barmaid and decided to take pity on his friend.

"Zaraki." Chad spoke in his deep voice.

"Chad." Zaraki replied with a small grin as he drew his gaze away from Ichigo.

Both men greeted each other with a nod of their heads, acknowledging the history they shared.

"Hey, Ichigo!" A bright, shiny surface approached calling his name.

Ichigo turned in the direction of the new voice and grinned. "Hey, Ikkaku. Still shaving I see." His voice was slightly mocking.

An effeminate looking man with strange eyebrow attachments standing beside the bald man rolled his eyes as Ikkaku replied. "Course I am. What're you doing in a place like this anyway?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Having a drink. What's a brawler like you doing in a place of good repute like this?"

Ikkaku cackled. "I'm one of the bouncers."

Ichigo shook his head. "Figures...Hey, Yumichika." He gave a short greeting to the bob haired man at Ikkaku's side as the bald man turned away.

Ikkaku and Chad greeted each other as Rukia leaned over the bar to quiz Ichigo. "How do you know them?" She asked curiously. Rukia had thought she was the only one Ichigo knew who worked at Seireitei, but as it turned out he knew more than a few. Now she was feeling slightly possessive.

"Them?" Ichigo questioned, taking another sip from his glass.

"Ishida, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Yumichika. I thought I was the only person you knew who worked here."

"Jealous?" Came the teasing reply.

Rukia blushed slightly. "Hardly," she replied in a tart tone, waiting for him to elaborate.

Ichigo sighed as he drained the last dregs of his drink. If Kenpachi and his gang were here, odds were the atmosphere wouldn't be sociable for much longer. "Ishida I know from college. We were both there to get the degrees our fathers wanted us to; so we sorta stuck together. We both joined the army at the same time too, although got drafted into different units." Ichigo paused, clearing his throat. "Kenpachi was a merc I met while I was deployed and Ikkaku and Yumichika were his squad mates. We almost killed each other the first time we met." Ichigo laughed as he recalled the memory of their meeting.

"You know a lot of people through the army then?" Rukia questioned.

Ichigo nodded. "You'd be surprised."

Things were silent for a the next few minutes, as Rukia served the few customers who approached the bar and occasionally sent nervous glances over to the group of gang members Ishida was serving. Ichigo watched as Chad talked with the silver haired barmaid who's name tag read 'Isane'. He was surprised when the woman managed to elicit a short chuckle from his normally taciturn friend.

Ichigo was the first to break the silence. "What's going on, Rukia? Is there some trouble expected or something?" He asked her seriously, making sure to look her in the eye.

Rukia looked away, unwilling to meet his gaze. "Maybe. There's group in here that are known trouble makers who've made threats against a few of the employees here."

Ichigo glanced over at the gang on the other side of the bar and met the gaze of the blue haired man who had the tattoo of a skeletal jawbone on his face, making it appear that he was actually missing the flesh from that area. He looked back to Rukia, taking note now of the way she kept smoothing her palms over her black pants to wipe the sweat off them.

Before Ichigo could make any response, he found himself being knocked in the side as another man pushed his way to the bar. The man had a mass of red hair done up in a ponytail along with what appeared to be tribal tattoo's on his eyebrows and forehead.

"Ruk--"

"Watch who you're knocking about mate." Ichigo snared as he regained his position on the bar stool, sending an angry glare along with his words.

The red head turned from greeting Rukia to return a glare of his own. "How bout you don't get in the way then?" He replied bluntly.

Ichigo was about to stand and give the red headed arsehole the hardest crack he'd ever received in his life when Rukia's sharp voice interrupted them.

"Renji! Ichigo!" Rukia cautioned, eying both men warningly. "You want to fight, do it on your own time."

Ichigo settled himself reluctantly and allowed his muscles to unwind. The shock of adrenaline he had received from the impending violence was fading away, but it had given him enough of a boost to jolt him almost completely back to his senses.

Meanwhile, Rukia was interrogating Renji as Kenpachi drifted over to listen, followed by Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Who's on the door?" She was demanding.

Renji grinned easily as he responded. "Iba and Komamura are on the door now," Renji explained, referencing the cross bred beast of a dog that was trained to act as a bouncer alongside its handler, "and Hisagi is supposedly about to join him."

"Soi Fon and Hitsugaya are upstairs," Ikkaku added, glancing around as Ishida approached Rukia's side inside the bar.

"We're supposed to stop serving people soon," Ishida told Rukia. "to help shuffle people out of the club sooner rather than later. Mayuri has also set up a good field of cameras to catch anything that occurs on film." He adjusted his glasses irritably. "He even told me just now that there's a camera on my glasses."

Renji sent a harsh look at Ishida and Ikkaku as a blonde man with half his face hidden by his hair and a larger overweight man approached. "When did you guys start discussing store policy in front of strangers?" He almost snarled, jerking his thumb at Ichigo and Chad who was still caught up in conversation with Isane.

"Since we know both of them and the carrot top beat Kenpachi in a fight." Ikkaku retorted, Ishida nodding to silently agree with him.

Renji stared at Ichigo in disbelief as the orange haired man snorted, getting to his feet.

"I'm going for a leak if my presence makes you nervous." Ichigo mocked him. "And Chad's too caught up in his new bird to be eavesdropping on whatever you guys are talking about." So saying that, Ichigo began to make his way through the crowd towards the toilets.

"Renji!" Rukia scolded him as she sent a glare his way.

"Yeah, nice one." Ikkaku snorted. "He might've given us a hand if things got too dicey, but now we'll be lucky if he does."

Renji scowled. "Why should we need--"

"Because he fights like a fucking berserker, that's why." Kenpachi told him bluntly. "And in a bar fight, luck means everything. Don't matter how good ya think you are, another pair of fists isn't something you turn down."

Renji hung his head, properly chastised. They were interrupted by the arrival of another pair of guests, an exotic tanned woman that sent a flirtatious look at every male in the group, who was attached to the arm of an eccentric looking man clad in a dark haori and trousers, complete with wooden clogs and a striped white and green hat.

"Urahara, Yoruichi." Rukia greeted the duo warmly, genuinely glad to see them. The pair were rumored to be the go-to guys for the owner of the club, Yamamoto; and quite possibly deadlier than any of the other fighters present.

"My my Yoruichi, quite a gathering of talent here." Urahara commented, pulling out a fan and flicking it open to hide his mouth. Yoruichi smiled, but remained silent. "But wait!" Urahara flicked his fan shut and began to theatrically sniff at the air. "There was another here, just recently departed who I would very much like to talk to."

Those who worked at the club looked amused, used to the possible hit man's antics. Chad looked over at the sound of his voice; his visible eye widening. Urahara looked around and as if noticing Chad for the first time, greeted him enthusiastically.

"Chad, so good to see you? Hmmm, it's not often you get out to clubs like this..." Urahara mused, while the blonde man, Kira and his overweight companion, Omaeda, the two who had approached when Renji voiced his objection to Ichigo, looked surprised that this stranger knew the mysterious Urahara. "That could mean that _he_ is nearby, hmm?" Urahara looked like an evil little child as he rubbed his hands together, while a wicked grin broke out over Yoruichi's face.

"Oh, for fucks sake."

Ichigo's voice was resigned, as if he had no choice in the fate about to befall him. There was a variety of reactions from those watching, ranging from confused to amused to jealous, as Yoruichi literally pounced on the unfortunate lad, pressing her chest into his as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ichigo," Yoruichi purred. "It's so good to see you."

Rather than reacting angrily at his partner's behaviour, Urahara seemed to be struggling to contain laughter as he watched Ichigo's efforts to separate himself from Yoruichi's grip.

Rukia watched Ichigo's predicament with an unusual feeling in her chest. With a jolt, she realized that this emotion was jealousy; an emotion she did not enjoy, especially when she had no need—or even _right_ to feel that way.

"Come on Yoruichi, give him a break." Rukia told her with exasperation clear in her voice. A few of the group gave her startled looks—since when did Rukia stick up for a guy she herself enjoyed teasing?

Yoruichi gave her a quick, sly look of understanding before releasing her 'prey'. Ichigo gave a sigh of relief before making his way to reclaim his bar stool, that just happened to be next to Renji's own, whom he just happened to bump into as he took his seat.

Rukia watched as the two men exchanged a glare and released a small sigh. From the looks of things, the Espada gang would be the least of their troubles—these two idiots would tear each other apart at the first chance they got.

Sighing again, Rukia picked up a cloth and began to wipe a dirty glass steadily. Life as a barmaid was so hard sometimes.

**To Be Concluded...**


	11. Bar Fight, Part III

"_Ichigo," Yoruichi purred. "It's so good to see you."_

_Rather than reacting angrily at his partner's behaviour, Urahara seemed to be struggling to contain laughter as he watched Ichigo's efforts to separate himself from Yoruichi's grip. _

_Rukia watched Ichigo's predicament with an unusual feeling in her chest. With a jolt, she realized that this emotion was jealousy; an emotion she did not enjoy, especially when she had no need—or even right to feel that way._

"_Come on Yoruichi, give him a break." Rukia told her with exasperation clear in her voice. A few of the group gave her startled looks—since when did Rukia stick up for a guy she herself enjoyed teasing?_

_Yoruichi gave her a quick, sly look of understanding before releasing her 'prey'. Ichigo gave a sigh of relief before making his way to reclaim his bar stool, that just happened to be next to Renji's own, whom he just happened to bump into as he took his seat. _

_Rukia watched as the two men exchanged a glare and released a small sigh. From the looks of things, the Espada gang would be the least of their troubles—these two idiots would tear each other apart at the first chance they got._

_Sighing again, Rukia picked up a cloth and began to wipe a dirty glass steadily. Life as a barmaid was so hard sometimes._

"So what are you doing here, Hat 'n' Clogs?" Ichigo asked of Urahara, who flicked his fan across his face to hide his mysterious smile.

"My lady and I can't go out for a night on the town?" Urahara replied innocently, although his expression was anything but.

"Not when I'm out too," Ichigo replied bluntly. "Every time I hang around with you I get shot."

There were a few chuckles from around the group, although Chad, Ishida and Kenpachi remained silent. Rukia realized that Ichigo wasn't joking about being shot, and began to look at Urahara in a new light.

"What about me, Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked with a sly wink. "You've never been shot when you've been around me."

"That's cause you always end up dragging me to strip joints and pay the women there to throw themselves at me." Ichigo retorted. "I think it's safer if I keep my distance from you two."

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, you wound me." Urahara proclaimed, holding a hand to his heart dramatically.

There was another round of chuckles, before the barmaid Momo approached Rukia. "I'm going to finish my shift as soon as Toushirou comes downstairs." She whispered nervously.

Rukia pulled her attention away from the boisterous conversation going back and forth between the fighters and turned to face Momo. "I think that's him now." She answered, spying a short, white haired teen approaching through the now thinning crowd of the club.

Momo's younger brother, Toushirou, was a better fighter than half the bouncers at the club, and took it upon himself to look out for his sister after a relationship with a man she trusted as her mentor was betrayed. Her mentor allowed one of his subordinates to rape her, before attempting to sell her as a sex slave. Of course, there was never enough evidence to convict the man, despite his position as leader of the Espada gang coming to light in the investigation. His name was Aizen Sousuke.

"Don't worry Momo." Rukia told the trembling woman firmly. "I will make sure he walks out of here missing something vital."

Momo smiled faintly; turning to greet her brother as he reached the bar. "Shiro-chan."

"Momo." Hitsugaya's voice was flat, lacking the normal teasing tone it held while talking to her. "I'm taking you up to Mr. Ukitake and Mr. Kyouraku. They'll look after you." He promised, sending a lethal glare at the gang on the other side of the bar.

"What are you going to do Shiro-chan?" Momo asked worriedly.

"I will fight." Hitsugaya answered her evenly. The dangerous young man hopped up over the bar and took his sister's hand, leading her towards the exit.

"Hey, shorty."

Hitsugaya turned at the sound of the arrogant voice, his countenance darkening at the sight of the men known as Yammy, Grimmjow, Nnoitra and Aaroniero.

"Hope you're still as tight now as you were then, sweet stuff." Nnoitra sneered, running his tongue over his lips as he ran his lust ridden gaze over Momo.

"Now now, Nnoitra." Aaroniero clucked disapprovingly. "Aizen-sama has sent us over to negotiate, not intimidate."

"Not interested, _scum_." Hitsugaya spat, his teal eyes blazing with fury.

"Oh, I think you'd better hear us out." Grimmjow smirked.

"What do you want?" Rukia cut in, seeking a way to avoid bloodshed. By now the rest of the fighters were staring at the group with steely eyes, ready for the first sign of violence.

Rukia ignored the way Nnoitra and Grimmjow eyed her; smirking, as Aaroniero replied. "It's nothing much, really. All you have to do is hand over Kuchiki Rukia and Hinamori Momo to us, and we'll be on our way."

Kurosaki Ichigo was not a stupid man. He had been aware of the tension between the two groups for the duration of the night, and had definitely noticed the concentration of capable looking fighters at the bar around him. The presence of Urahara, Yoruichi and Kenpachi only confirmed it. What he was not expecting, however, was the blatant demand for the two young women.

Kicking his stool over, Ichigo strode around the corner of the bar to face the four gang members alone. "How about you get well and truly fucked."

The big man, Yammy, gave a brutish laugh before slamming a ham handed fist into the side of Ichigo's head with a speed that belied his size. Ichigo crumpled under the force of the blow, his head slamming into the edge of the bar before collapsing to the floor. A few nearby women shied away from the casual violence.

Rukia's eyes widened at the sight of Ichigo collapsing out of sight. The Espada gang members still seated chuckled at the blow, and Renji made to go to the downed man's aid. Ikkaku put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head slightly.

Grimmjow's tattooed jaw went slack as Ichigo regained his feet, shaking his head to clear the grogginess.

"Last chance, assholes," Ichigo warned. "Fuck off before I get serious."

Grimmjow snarled, pulling a knife from his white jacket. "I'll show ya serious, ya fucking hero."

Ichigo made no attempt to move as Grimmjow lunged forward, the blade sinking swiftly into Ichigo's side. As the blood began to spread from the wound, Kenpachi chuckled softly amidst the screams of the punters still at the bar, the stabbing sparking a panicked hurry for the door.

Grimmjow's smirk faded as a wide grin spread its way across Ichigo's face, a manic grin that spread from ear to ear. "Here," Ichigo drew the knife out without flinching. "I think this is yours!"

Ichigo drove the dagger into the right of Grimmjow's chest, piercing his lung. The blue haired man coughed up blood once before collapsing slowly.

For a moment all seemed silent, and then the panicked civilian hurry for the door became a mad stampede. Grimmjow's body hitting the ground was a signal, and the lines were drawn and enemies chosen as the Espada reacted.

Rukia grabbed a bottle of straight rum and hurled it with all her might at Aaroniero, feeling a surge of malicious satisfaction as the bottle shattered upon impact, sending spirits and shards of glass into the eyes of Kaien's brother.

Kenpachi and Ikkaku had pulled a pair of vicious looking swords from God-knows-where and were leaping over the bar to get at the main body of Espada, closely followed by Yumichika who held a number of serrated throwing knives in his hands.

Hitsugaya was hurrying Momo out of the fight, dodging past Rukia who was shrieking obscenities while throwing more bottles of expensive alcohol at Aaroniero. As he barged through the doors, he passed Kaien and Soi Fon, giving each a short nod whilst keeping his attention on his sister. The two of them wasted no time in joining the brawl that had developed between the Espada and the bouncers of Seireitei.

Ichigo was dodging the cumbersome blows of Yammy, apparently unaffected by the stab wound in his side. The big man was cursing and sweating as his blows failed to connect, while Ichigo continued to grin manically. Growing tired of dodging, Ichigo leaped up using a bar stool for propulsion, before bringing his elbow down with a resounding _crack_ on Yammy's head. The brute of a man went limp, his eyes rolling back into his head before falling like a stone next to the blue haired Grimmjow. Smirking, Ichigo looked around for another opponent.

There was a furious barking echoing throughout the now empty club, rising over the still pounding music and pulsing lights. The main doors burst open, revealing a huge cross bred dog shaking the leg of a thug furiously while a man with sideburns and slick sunglasses pounded another. A second man with three parallel scars running down his right cheek and a tattoo reading _69_ on his left was slashing into three more men with two long, curved daggers, crippling with his blows rather than killing. The Seireitei bouncers Iba and Hisagi held their ground, before being pushed back by sheer weight of numbers as more and more thugs began to pour through the double doors, almost 20 in total.

The tanned beauty Yoruichi gave a Cheshire grin before slipping towards the melee, dancing around the men whilst using her fists and elbows to deadly affect. She was soon joined by Urahara, who somehow managed to keep his fan over his mouth as he lay about with his cane, repeatedly striking painful points on his victims' bodies

Meanwhile, Kenpachi was having the time of his living, cackling madly as he swung his blade at the sadistic Nnoitra. Ikkaku was dueling a blonde man who also wore an eye patch, making sure to stay out of Kenpachi's way. Nnoitra had revealed a sword from inside his robe and now none dared interfere in the duel for fear of being hit by either of the two madman. Nnoitra landed a wicked blow on Kenpachi's shoulder, only to flinch back himself when the wounded man laughed louder and fought harder.

Renji stumbled back, wiping a hand across his cheek only to have it come away bloody. He was fighting a pink haired man wearing glasses, who was a lot tougher than he appeared. The man, who had been identified by a fellow gang member as Szayel, fought using a pair of metal chopsticks that had been filed and sharpened to points. Renji was now sporting several shallow gashes over his arm and face, each one tingling strangely. He stumbled slightly as he moved to attack the pink haired man again.

"Feeling the effects already?" Szayel questioned smugly. "There is a little paralyzing agent smeared over my weapons. It's nothing serious....until I stab you in the throat."

Renji gave a snarl and grabbed a half empty bottle from the bar, rushing forward to smash it over Szayel's head. The man swore as his glasses slipped from his face amidst a shower of glass and warm alcohol, his eyes blurring and stinging.

Chad was wielding a bar stool like it was a toy, using it to extend his reach by several metres. Once the fighting had started, Chad had positioned himself in front of the barmaid, Isane, and grabbed the bar stool once he saw that several of the attacking thugs had weapons. Five of thugs approached at once, fanning out warily. They had seen the way the giant had crushed their fellows that had approached him, and were determined to avoid the same fate. Three of the thugs rushed his centre, hindering each other more than helping. Chad swept them away with a single swing of the bar stool, dropping his weapon as the other two thugs attacked from his sides, giving himself a chance to counter at least one of them. A solid blow sent the man flying, crashing into several bar stools on his way. Chad turned to face the other thug, only to see Isane laying into him over the bar with what looked like a cudgel. As the man fell to the ground senseless, Chad showed a rare smile. Isane blushed prettily at the smile, causing Chad to feel slightly light headed. Both shared the same thought; _they really do look attractive with that expression_.

After felling Grimmjow and Yammy, Ichigo had followed Kenpachi's example and moved to engage the original group of thugs. The man who had received a face full of glass and spirits from Rukia was now trading blows with a man who could've been—and most probably was, his twin. A woman with her hair tied into a pair of braids was fighting the only female gang member, a blonde woman who wore a white top with long sleeves that left her midriff bare. Ichigo found himself confronted by a man with dark hair and dull, emotionless eyes that had two tattooed green lines trailing down from them. The man's blows were fast, almost too fast to counter, and Ichigo found himself in a serious fight for the first time.

The adrenaline began to wear off, and Ichigo could feel the pain of the stab wound affecting his movements. The emotionless man was pressing him hard, never giving him a moments rest. Ichigo hissed in pain as his opponent kicked his wounded side, springing back before snarling and grabbing the nearest available glass—that just happened to be a martini glass. Ichigo swung the frail glass at his foes face, holding it by the stem and not really expecting any result. Instead of dodging it, the Emo (as Ichigo had nicknamed him), discounted any threat it presented and prepared a blow of his own, only to stagger back and clutch at his face as the martini glass shattered upon impact with his face, several shards of glass piercing deep into his left eye. He fell back silently, blood beginning to leak from his ear. The glass had gone through his eye and pierced his brain.

Rukia watched as her friends and co workers fought the gang members and thugs that were spread throughout the club. Kain was beating down Aaroniero, his brother disadvantaged by the small shards of glass in his face and rum in his eyes. Renji was slowly gaining the upper hand on Szayel with the help of Ishida, despite the paralyzing agent in the small wounds now shared by both the Seireitei employees.

There was an inhuman scream, and Rukia's head snapped towards the source. Hitsugaya had returned, and he was leaping over the bar tops and counters to get at the leader of the gang, Aizen Sousuke. With a flurry of blows too fast for the eye to follow, Hitsugaya rained his fury down upon the man who had allowed his sister to be violated. The kindly expression on Aizen's face was gone now, the mask discarded and his true face no display for all to see. Aizen's expression was twisted in a malicious smirk as he fended off his white haired attacker. Rukia attention was drawn away from the fight for revenge between Hitsugaya and Aizen by a hand curling around her throat. Before she could voice a scream, another hand was held across her mouth and she was dragged quickly away from the fight, through a pair of doors and out of sight.

Kaien delivered a wicked right hook into Aaroniero's face, following up with a left uppercut. The breath fled from Aaroniero's lungs, causing him to lean forward, wheezing heavily. Placing his hands on his brother's shoulders, Kaien kneed him in the face, smirking with satisfaction as he was rewarded with a resounding _crack_. With the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, Kaien looked around for another opponent. His smirk morphed into a frown when he noticed the absence of two of the Espada's leaders, seeing only the black man Tousen directing the thugs. His attention was shaken from the leaders absence by a strong hand grabbing his shoulder, and he prepared himself for another fight.

Instead of a fist, however, Kaien was met by a shock of orange hair. The orange haired man screamed into his face to be heard over the din of fighting and music.

"Where's Rukia?!?"

Kaien pointed at the bar where Rukia was hurling bottles at the gang members, but swore when he saw she was no longer there. The two men separated and looked around frantically, but Rukia was nowhere to be seen.

Both men were beginning to panic. Aaroniero was out for the count, so Kaien knew he hadn't grabbed her, but one of the gang leaders, Gin, had always had an unhealthy obsession with the petite woman. Kaien felt a flicker of hope when he saw Ichigo tear through five thugs in about three seconds on a rampage towards a slightly open fire escape. Light from the alley beyond shone through into a dark corner of the club.

Ichigo shouldered the fire escape door open, stumbling out into the dirty and graffiti covered alley, illuminated by a single flickering light. The stench of garbage was heavy in the air, but Ichigo ignored all this. His attention was focused completely on the two figures trying to force a violently struggling Rukia into a dark van at the entrance of the alley.

"Fuck! Little bitch bit me!" The words were accompanied by a harsh slap, causing the figure to stop struggling momentarily and Ichigo saw red.

Ignore Kaien behind him, Ichigo surged down the alley towards the two men, a grinning silver fox and a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing. Aizen saw him coming and smiled, pulling a revolver from inside his jacket and thumbing the hammer back.

Ichigo's world slowed. The malicious grin worn by the silver haired man as he held the struggling Rukia, the smug look on Aizen's face, all were blurry and out of focus. All he could see was the gun, the gleaming, silver gun, and the resolute expression on Rukia's face. These details were sharp, defined, blocking out all else.

The gun went off, the report shattering the silence of the night. The victim sank to the ground at Aizen's feet, blood beginning to pool around their body.

Rukia stared in disbelief at Ichigo's prone form. He had thrown himself in front of Aizen at the last second, shielding her from the threat with his own body. The grip holding her in place slackened, the man behind her stepping back. Aizen wore an expression of utter confusion, seemingly unable to comprehend what Ichigo had done. Rukia was vaguely aware of Kaien fighting the silver haired fox, trying to reach her, but all she could see was Aizen.

Without even realising what she was doing, Rukia reached out and took the still smoking revolver from Aizen's hands, the transaction not even registering in his mind. The leader of the Espada just couldn't comprehend the act of someone giving their life for another, and he never would.

Another sharp report echoed about the alley, snapping Aizen out of his stupor. His hand drifted to his heart, trying to staunch the flow of blood that ran over his fingers in a torrent.

"A little girl..." Aizen uttered his last words before falling heavily against the van, sliding down its side.

Nearby, Kaien was slamming Fox Man's head repeatedly into the brick wall, leaving more and more blood on the wall each time. With a burst of strength, Kaien slammed his foe's head into the wall one last time, cracking a number of bricks and fracturing the man's skull.

From their position at the mouth of the alley, Rukia and Kaien could see the fighting had spilled out into the street, the bouncers clearly having the upper hand. They could see Ishida and Renji bringing down Szayel, Kenpachi decapitating Nnoitra, Soi Fon punching Harribel repeatedly in the face, Ikkaku and Yumichika boxing in an old man, Hitsugaya trading blows with a brown haired man who was lazily fighting back.

Sirens pierced the air, and a number of police squad cars screeched to a halt beside the fighting. A noble looking man wearing kensaiken stepped out of the first car and began to direct his subordinates to subdue the gang members. His eyes flicked over to where Rukia sat sobbing over Ichigo's fallen body, Kaien standing numbly beside her. He gave a few curt orders and several officers and a paramedic ran over to them.

One of the officers kicked the revolver away from Rukia's side and pulled out his cuffs, preparing to apprehend the woman. He was stopped by his partner putting a hand on his shoulder and jerking his head towards their Captain, muttering something about 'sister'.

Rukia watched as the paramedic turned Ichigo onto his back carefully, but had to avert her eyes at the sight of his front covered in blood. The paramedic, Hanatarou, checked Ichigo's neck for a pulse carefully.

"I need a stretcher over here!" Hanatarou called out loudly. One of the officers nodded quickly and ran towards a nearby ambulance that had arrived with the squad cars.

"W-what?" Rukia was disbelieving. Surely he couldn't be alive—there was so much blood.

"He was shot in the shoulder miss," Hanatarou explained. "He is only unconscious right now; probably from the knock on his head."

Kaien stared at the orange haired man incredulously; the man had been stabbed and shot, but is knocked unconscious by diving to the ground? Granted, he had been shot during the dive, but that was just too much. Kaien felt a relieved chuckle bubbling up inside him for a man he barely knew, and soon he was laughing outright. Rukia managed a smile at her boss' antics, and soon found herself chuckling along side him.

The laughter subsided as Ichigo was lifted carefully the stretcher and the wheels beneath it unfolded, before being rolled towards the ambulance. As the stretcher was lifted into the ambulance, Ichigo stirred slightly, starting to regain consciousness. Rukia watched silently s Hanatarou staunched the blood flow and bound Ichigo's wounds.

"Can you stay with him?" Hanatarou asked with concern once he was finished. "I need to go check on any other injured people until more paramedics arrive."

Rukia sniffed slightly before replying. "Yes, I can do that."

As she waited for Ichigo to wake up, Rukia watched the commotion outside the ambulance. It was like another world, filled with raw emotion and movement somehow apart from the isolated haven in the back of the ambulance. Rukia saw the bodies of Aizen, the other two leaders of the gang, as well as Nnoitra and Grimmjow being placed into body bags and partially zipped up. The fierce dog, Komamura, was chewing on what appeared to be a badly mutilated arm, and Rukia noted queasily that the black leader was one limb short.

Several police seemed to be trying to guide Kenpachi into the back of a squad car, only to find that the huge man literally couldn't fit. Rukia saw Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, her brother, give a few orders and Kenpachi was allowed to lean casually against the car, joined by Ikkaku and Yumichika. Renji and Ishida stood nearby, grinning as Szayel sat at their feet, hands cuffed behind his back.

Hitsugaya stood with his sister Momo, the two of them staring at the corpses of Aizen and Nnoitra. Ukitake and a man wearing a flowery shirt stood beside them. Kira and Omaeda stood with Soi Fon at the entrance to the club, watching as Chad helped several officers carry more unconscious bodies out of the club. Ichigo's friend paused from his task long enough to give Isane a quick wink before returning to his task.

Yoruichi was giving Byakuya a detailed account of what had happened assisted by Iba and Hisagi, the exotic woman seemingly serious for once, until she attacked the Captain with her breasts, causing several nearby officers to guffaw loudly. They gulped heavily when Byakuya managed to disentangle himself and send a famous Kuchiki glare their way.

"Aren't you supposed to be crying inconsolably while you grieve over the fact that you never told me how you truly feel?"

Rukia turned at the sound of the smug voice, feeling a smile dangerously close to spreading across her face. "Finished your nap then?" She retorted. "Guess I don't need to stay and watch you then."

Rukia made to rise from her seat in the ambulance, but smirked internally when Ichigo grabbed her arm.

"You'd leave the man who took a bullet for you all on his lonesome?" Ichigo smirked visibly, knowing he had the upper hand.

Rukia narrowed her eyes. "That's low," she growled playfully at him.

Ichigo chuckled, before wincing in pain as he disturbed his wounds. "I was expecting it. I told you every time I hang around with Urahara I get shot."

"At least Yoruichi didn't get the opportunity to drag you to any strip joints." Rukia joked in reply.

The two were silent for several more minutes, each trying to think what to say next. Predictably, they both spoke up at once.

"Rukia, you don't have t--"

"Ichigo, I want to thank--"

They laughed, before Ichigo indicated for Rukia to continue on.

"I want to thank you, Ichigo," she took a deep breath. "I would have died tonight if it wasn't for you, that or something worse."

Ichigo remembered the two Espada leaders trying to force her into the van and scowled.

"Thank you, Ichigo," Rukia repeated. "I owe you a great debt."

A crafty look came into Ichigo's eyes, putting Rukia off slightly. "I know a couple of ways you can pay that debt."

As Rukia's eyes widened in disbelief, Ichigo seemed to realise what he had just said, a look of horror coming over his face.

"That's not—I didn't mean--"

Rukia laughed, dispelling his awkwardness and drawing his attention to the way her hair shimmered in the light. "I know you did not mean it that way,"she smiled. "How can I pay you back?"

Ichigo suddenly looked extremely nervous. "Doyouwanttogoonadatewithme?"

Rukia blinked. "Sorry?

Ichigo took a deep breath and repeated his question. "Do you want to go on a date with me?"

"You want to go on a date with me?" Rukia asked, unsure if he was serious.

Ichigo smirked at her confusion. "Why do you think I kept coming back to Seireitei? It's not exactly the cheapest club around, I can tell you." Ichigo finished propping himself up on his elbows.

"I think I can agree to that," Rukia replied, smiling. "Now, what else was there?"

"Just one thing," Ichigo told her seriously. He looked around conspiratorily, as if to make sure no one could overheard. He beckoned her closer.

Rukia leaned in, only to have him beckon her closer still. "What is it?" She whispered.

Rather than reply, Ichigo leaned forward further and slipped his hand up to her slender neck. His lips softly made contact with her own, gently at first, but then with rising passion as Rukia returned the kiss.

Rukia leaned further forward, almost laying on the stretcher alongside Ichigo as she deepened the kiss. Ichigo was enjoying the moment immensely, and felt himself becoming light headed when she slipped just the tip of her tongue into his mouth, leaving a trail of fire wherever it touched. Ichigo returned the favour, smirking to himself when she gave a small mewl of pleasure.

They would have continued on for several minutes, if not for several cheers that intruded on their intimacy. Breaking away, the two of them came face to face with most of the bouncers from the club, each wearing some sort of grin. When Kaien gave Rukia a thumbs up and Yoruichi winked at Ichigo, Rukia felt the colour rising in her face, sure that she was blushing deeply. The colour drained completely, however, when Rukia caught sight of her brother in the small crowd, leaving her pale.

The crowd of friends watched as Rukia hurriedly jumped up from her seat, closing the doors before anymore cheering could occur. When it failed to abate, Rukia took matters into her own hands.

"Get in the car and drive, Hanatarou!!" Rukia yelled, calling for the paramedic.

The cheers turned to laughter as the young man hurried to follow Rukia's order, leaping into the ambulance and taking off with a small screech of tires.

In the back of the ambulance, Rukia felt an arm circle around her waist. Ichigo had maneuvered himself into a seated position, and wore a rather large smirk on his face.

"I don't think we were quite finished there, Rukia." He drew her closer.

"No, I don't think we were, Ichigo." Rukia smiled and melted into this arms, resuming the 'repayment' of her debt enthusiastically.


	12. Lemon: Bar Fight, Part IV

Ichigo was slowly being driven insane.

It wasn't an angry sort of crazy, the sort that would allow you to get away with an insanity plea after killing someone, and it wasn't the sort of demented that crept up on people in their old age.

It was the insane that came from being stuck in a small, white washed hospital room with a single fucking wall decoration for two excruciatingly slow weeks.

Ichigo had memorised every little detail about the single, A4 sized painting on the wall. Blue background, yellow sail, white mast, red hull, two dimensional.

He hated that painting. Hated the thing with a passion.

Ichigo continued to sulk, the top of the hospital bed elevated to support his back and tucked neatly under a white sheet. He had assured the well meaning doctors and nurses that he was more than fit enough to leave the hospital, but they wouldn't hear of it. Apparently, being stabbed and then shot required a sojourn in the hospital that lasted longer than two weeks.

Ichigo scowled. Damn doctors. What would they know about healing knife injuries and bullet wounds? On the other hand....scratch that last thought.

The sudden swinging of the door to his room caught Ichigo's attention. Rather, the beauty that just walked through them did.

Ichigo's sulking expression flowed smoothly into a smirk. "Couldn't get enough of me, ey Rukia?

Despite his confinement to the hospital room, their relationship had...matured, over the past two weeks. Restricted to visiting hours as they were, Rukia had found some interesting ways of sneaking into Ichigo's room to spend the night without the knowledge of the hospital staff.

Rather than give him a cheeky reply, Rukia smirked, adjusting the large overcoat she wore. Ichigo glanced out the window. It was overcast, but not bad enough to warrant such a large coat. Before he could voice any of his suspicions, Rukia turned and locked the door. Without turning to face him, Rukia shed the grey coat she wore, and Ichigo suddenly found it rather hard to breathe.

The white uniform she wore was little better than a shirt, its length giving Ichigo a very good view of Rukia's panties—or rather, lack of. The lower curve of her backside was clearly visible, the white material above it so tight that it could've been sprayed on.

A devilish smirk in place, Rukia turned to examine Ichigo's reaction. The hem at the front of the outfit was slightly lower than the back, Ichigo was disappointed to see. However, his disappointment soon became a thing of the past as he drank in the rest of Rukia's outfit, namely the large expanse of bare cleavage that was outlined by a nurses uniform that clung to her body in all right places. Ichigo gulped heavily even as his eyes ravaged Rukia's form, lingering on the sight of her nipples straining against the thin material of the outfit.

Ichigo began to sweat as Rukia began to strut towards the beg, reminiscent of a lioness perusing the available prey. He had no idea why he was being affected so drastically by the mere sight of her sensuality, all he knew roaring hard and ready to go; yet somehow he doubted Rukia would let him off that easily.

Slowly, almost lazily, Rukia slipped up onto the foot of the bed, dragging herself up along Ichigo's body. He could feel each and every curve as she pressed herself against him, every delightful contour of her body. His eyes rolled back in his head when she straddled him, and he could feel the heat of her molten core rubbing against him through the sheets and hospital gown that covered him.

Rukia shifted slightly, an example of pleasurable torture, earning a small groan from Ichigo. The weight of her body was removed from his, and he could feel the sheets being drawn back from his legs. The hospital gown was next, its design allowing Rukia to simply pull it off, before dropping it seductively on the floor as she bit her bottom lip.

Ichigo groaned again, louder this time, as Rukia returned to her original position straddling his waist. His rock hard member was pressed directly up against her wet slit, and his hips began to thrust unconsciously. Rukia moaned as his cock rubbed against her sex, coming dangerously close to penetration. Her juices began to flow in earnest, and Rukia had to force herself to move before she lost control of the situation completely. This was a well planned seduction, and she was not going to blow it because she wanted to jump him early.

Ichigo made a small sound of frustration as her heat was removed from him, opening his eyes to see what she was doing. He didn't even remember closing them. Rukia shifted up along his body, before turning around completely. She gave him the barest of moments to react, before pushing herself back further and lowering her pussy over his face.

The sensations that traveled around his body as Rukia took him in her mouth were almost enough to render him brain dead. A stricken groan escaped his throat, sending vibrations through Rukia's core that left her begging for more. When no further action was forthcoming, Rukia allowed Ichigo's erection to escape her mouth with a small _pop_.

"Stark licking me, idiot!" Was all she got out, before Ichigo's length was pressed insistently back into her mouth.

Ichigo began to obey Rukia's orders—eagerly. Starting with slow, teasing licks, he began to lather her core thoroughly. The sounds of pleasure Rukia began to make sent shivers down Ichigo's spine, and his tongue probed deeper, eliciting more moans of approval from the, er, 'nurse'.

The combined effects of Rukia's pussy above his mouth and her tongue swirling around his cock were beginning to unhinge him. The shivers from his spine had spread all about his body, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. Rukia's attentions were close to sending him over the edge, he no longer knew which way was up and which was down.

Reality had become indistinguishable from fantasy, but Ichigo wasn't sure he cared. The taste of her arousal on his tongue, the feel of her mouth around his member, the sound her of soft pants and mewls, the smell coming from her sex that was _pure woman_ and the dark haze across his eyes, all had overcome him.

The situation he found himself in was so irrational, so unexpected, Ichigo had to wonder if that fucking wall ornament had finally made him snap.

Ichigo's tongue continued to penetrate the writhing woman above him, even as she continued to slide her tongue along his shaft. He brought his hand to her wet and eager opening, deciding to push her just that little bit further, and hopefully off the edge.

Tentatively, Ichigo brushed the small, extended pink nub at the roof of Rukia's core. Her thighs spasmed at the contact, lifting her treasure away from his mouth, only to be pulled back down by Ichigo with a growl. Insistently, he continued to rub gently at Rukia's clit, sending small shocks of sensation through her body. His tongue laved her insides, lapping up as much of her elixir as possible.

Soon, her moaning had reached a crescendo, and Ichigo could feel his orgasm approaching rapidly. Ichigo smirked. He was going to make damn sure she got there before he did.

Rukia had begun to grind into his face, begging for more. As she raised her hips again, Ichigo placed a finger strategically, his smirk widening with satisfaction as she sank down onto it, before curling his finger slightly and making small thrusting movements with it.

Ichigo's skilled tongue, the constant rubbing of her clit, and now the penetration of his finger proved too much for Rukia to bare. Abandoning her task completely, Rukia rose up with her back arched, screaming soundlessly as she rode her orgasm to a new high. Her drenched and dripping pussy released a small flood of liquid gold into his waiting mouth that he proceeded to lap up eagerly, thoroughly licking each soft fold of skin he could reach with his tongue.

Rukia slumped over, taking a moment to regain her bearings. Her synapses were blown, her nerve endings burnt out, but by the way Ichigo was grasping her hips, he wasn't ready to give her a moments break. Effortlessly, he lifted her body and moved her down, positioning her over his still raging erection with her back to him.

Rukia gave out a loud gasp as Ichigo thrust up into her, pulling down on her hips as he did so. Still lying down, and giving no thought to the fact that she was still riding out the end of her last orgasm, he began to thrust into her, penetrating deeper and spreading her wider than she had ever been before.

She felt his body shift, and then he was sitting up as she continued to ride him, palming her breasts as she bounced. The rhythm was set, but every so often Ichigo would thrust up a little deeper, a little harder, eliciting small moans of pleasure from the woman atop him.

Ichigo popped her breasts out from the skin tight nurses outfit, taking the bare skin in his hand. He began to roll the already hard nipples between his fingers, before leaving of on her left breast and sending his hand south. Once again, he devoted his attention to her clit, earning a long groan from Rukia.

By this point, Ichigo was barely holding on. Rukia's pussy was twitching and spasming around his cock, and her oral attentions earlier hadn't helped much. Determined to take her over the edge with him, Ichigo stepped up his attack. His right hand alternated between each breast, pinching and soothing as he kneaded her soft flesh. His left index finger was rubbing furiously at her clit, adding to the sensation of his rod sliding in and out of her slick slit.

Ichigo leaned forward and sank his teeth into Rukia's neck, a mix of pleasure and pain. She cried out, but not silently this time, and for Ichigo, the sound was just too much.

With a roar, he erupted inside her, sending his seed deep into her well fucked sheath. The feeling of Ichigo inside her, cuming within her, combined with the sensations being delivered by his hands and the pleasure pain from his mouth, sent her over the edge yet again. Her cry died on her lips as the pleasure overloaded her system, sending her into a state of bliss.

An indeterminable amount of time later, the two lovers were coming down from their shared high. Rukia could feel Ichigo's cum leaking from her pussy and onto his thighs, as well as the stinging from what would become a very noticeable hickey. Without a word, Ichigo lifted her slightly and allowed his softening length to slip out of her sheath, before pulling the spunky barmaid close.

Both exhausted by their exertions, Rukia allowed Ichigo to pull the discarded sheets back over their sweaty bodies, content to lay together for a short while more.

_Just a short while...._that was Rukia's last thought as she drifted off to sleep in the light of the dying afternoon sun.


	13. Witchcraft: Summoning

The moonlight was bright and the night quite.

The woman in white ghosted through the trees, as silent as the wraith she was. Skin so pale it was nearly translucent, her face was framed by soft raven hair. The trees whispered of her passage, speaking of the ecstasies and agonies her whims wrought.

At her side, yet at the same time all around her, a darker presence lurked. His shadow spoke eloquently of power; power that could bend nature itself to his service and a willingness to do so in the protection of his companion. His orange hair was a sharp contrast to the dark cloak that seemed almost alive as it coiled around his body.

The essence of the two beings became entwined, nuzzling at each other with the amorousness of lovers. They had long since left the forest within which they had spent their infancy after ascending to become more than what they were. The departure from their homeland had not been a decision of their own, the pair having begun their own legend born from the terrible retribution they had drawn from those who had destroyed their forest and inadvertently driven them out.

As spirits, they had been bound to that place. Now that they had left, they had become something more yet again. Not yet the Siedh who had raised them, but something...else.

And now they were being summoned. Two beings such as they were being summoned by a _mortal_. They could feel the pull on their essence, drawing them towards a Circle.

They had been summoned before—or rather, someone had attempted to summon them, to bind them to their will as a personal slave, to have them carry out some menial task. The two had watched in apathy as their would be summoner had withered into a dry husk for their presumption.

But this one was different. The pull that they felt was...different this time. It was enough to make them curious, enough so they would stay their stay their touch and perhaps even listen to what they had to say.

The two companions swept out from the cover of the trees without pause, continuing on towards the stone Circle in the middle of the field. Their view of the middle of the Circle was obscured by the arcane energies that whirled and conflicted within.

They halted suddenly on the very edge of the circle, exchanging a single glance. The compulsion to discover what called to them was overwhelming, yet strangely they did not feel threatened.

Without further hesitation, the two took physical form and stepped through the gateway stone and into the Circle.

**X x X**

Several hours earlier, when the light of the sun was still filtering down through the roof of the forest, two young women trudged towards the transient safety of the nearest Circle. One with dark hair the other fair, they each struggled through the trees carrying heavy packs; packs which contained what they needed to survive in the harsh wilderness. The dark haired woman wore a pair of crossed short swords between her back and her bag, while the fair haired one carried no weapon save a short, well polished staff. They were both clad in dark robes to ward off the cold autumn air.

"How much further?" The dark haired woman asked evenly, despite being short of breath.

"Almost there, Karin," came the soft reply. Then her voice became teasing, "you wouldn't be out of breath, would you sister dear? We can stop if you want."

"Not on your life, Yuzu," Karin retorted. "Even without a walking stick of my own I can keep up with you."

"It is not a _walking stick_," Yuzu replied with mock outrage, sticking her nose in the air. "It is a staff, thank you very much," she added primly, before her eyes grew sly. "I imagine those knives of yours would weigh you down. I could find an adequate cane for you ."

Karin's eyes narrowed at the insult to her blades. No one insulted her babies. Not even her little sister. "For that," she declared. "You shall pay."

Both sisters fought to keep the smiles from showing on their faces, yet the harder they tried, the more they failed. It was not long until the brief moment of levity passed, returning a somber mood to the pair, for they were not out strolling through the woods for fun. There were few who would venture willingly into these woods, known as they were for sighting of the Fey and those who worshiped them. It was whispered in taverns that those who entered the wood came rarely came out, all but a few taken by evil spirits and malicious witches.

But the two women were not simple villagers. Witches both of them, skilled practitioners of the Wicca way. And it was for that reason that they were shunned, driven out of settlements if they were lucky, hunted if they were not. Hunted as they were now, having eluded capture and accumulated enough rumours of sin and wickedness to warrant pursuit by Knights of the Cross.

As it was, they had little more than half a days lead on their pursuers, a lead that was quickly diminishing. Karin and Yuzu had placed their hopes on one final gamble, a summoning; knowing that they could not hope to stand against a party of mounted Knights without assistance.

They didn't dare to presume to summon a Siedh, knowing that their fate would rest on the capricious whim of the deity if they did so, but also knew that it would take a powerful spirit of nature to stand up to Knights of the Cross. Not a normal spirit yet not a Siedh, they needed something...different.

Their course had been decided on after hearing whispers of two new, powerful spirits that had a reputation as vengeance avatars despite being less than two centuries old; the Black Moon Fang and Pure White Snow. None had yet managed to discover their real names, as knowledge of a spirit's true name gave power of them, and was a jealously guarded secret.

Karin blinked as they cleared the trees, her eyes adjusting to the extra sunlight. A sense of relief spread through her as she caught sight of the stone Circle and the hope it represented. She didn't realise that she had halted until her sister strode past her.

"Hurry, Karin," she spoke in an uncharacteristically nervous tone. "There is only an hour until the sun falls, and we need to be prepared for the ritual by then."

"Right," Karin shook herself and resumed walking towards the Circle, and hopefully, their salvation.

**X**

Karin stood guard while Yuzu unpacked a variety of items from their two heavy packs. The younger sister (by mere minutes, as she was quick to remind whoever brought it up) had always been more skilled in the arcane aspects of their lifestyle.

When Karin was out training with their father, Yuzu would remain indoors and listen with rapt attention to the lectures of their grandmother. Her favourite legend was that of an ancestor who had given his life trying to save a witch, and had been rewarded with new life as a spirit upon their murders.

Yuzu set out to prepare the ritual markers, efficiently rolling out a mat and setting out candles marking the four cardinal directions. With a sharp burst of focus, they leapt into life, flickering slightly in non-existent wind. Next came the bowl, spun from the hides of bear and wolf, held together by hawks feather and the blood of all three animals, willingly given. Last came the knife, a long dagger with ripples built into the blade.

"Are you ready?" Karin asked quietly.

Yuzu took in a small breath before replying, "yes."

In a smooth movement, Yuzu took up the knife and drew it in a sharp line along the soft flesh of her arm, allowing the blood to fall glistening into the bowl. As soon as the required sacrifice was completed, Yuzu grabbed the waiting bandages with her spare hand and wrapped them messily around her arm, spilling several more drops of the precious liquid on the grass.

Karin stepped in, adding a lock of dark hair to the blood in the bowl and completing the first stage of the ritual. Her arm wrapped, Yuzu knelt on the grass before the bowl and began to chant in an eerie, lilting tone that was out of place on a young woman.

The trees on the edges of the field containing the Circle began whispering, passing the call on in the dying afternoon sun.

And far away, two beings...responded.

**X x X**

_Without further hesitation, the two took physical form and stepped through the gateway stone and into the Circle._

The sight they were met with was not one they were expecting. Rather than a haughty crone or wizened old man, a young woman was kneeling before the summoning instruments, whilst an equally young woman stood behind her, eyes shifting around, seeking movement.

~_**You are young.**_~

The woman kneeling on the grass broke off her chanting abruptly, her eyes coming into focus as she sought out the newcomer. Her companion moved quickly, drawing her second blade and placing herself between the two spirits taken physical form and their summoner.

~_Who are you?_~**Why have you called us?**~

The two women exchanged a glance at the way the words spoken seemed to issue from the mouths of the newcomers simultaneously, the tone of voice the only way of distinguishing which being posed each question.

"I am Karin Kurosaki and this is my sister Yuzu," Karin began, even as she sheathed her blades.

"...and we called you here because we wish to ask for your help," Yuzu finished, silently willing for the encounter to end well.

The two beings became stock still and utterly silent, giving the two sisters time to take in their appearance. The two figures gave off a decidedly masculine and feminine impression each and despite being near polar opposites, seemed to fit together naturally.

The male spirit was robed in a dark cloak, a cloak which seemed to draw his body inwards and had a life of its own as the edges curled upwards as if made of smoke. Medium length orange hair hung to just above his eyes, while an untidy patch of stubble adorned his chin and jaw. Golden eyes that had seen much surveyed them impassively, while his right hand was clasped with the left of his companion.

_Cold_ seemed to be the best word to describe the woman, if she could be called that. A cold demeanor, although not necessarily a cold personality. Here raven hair was collected up in trusses, with a bang descending below each ear. Her skin was pale, unnaturally so, and the ground on which she stood was frosted over slightly. She wore a delicate white robe that hung to mid thigh, hinting at her figure yet revealing nothing. Her eyes were a soft amethyst that held the lure of danger, accentuated by the now flakes that twirled around the hand clasped by her partner.

~_What aid do you require?_~**Your name is Kurosaki?**~

The sisters exchanged another glance, communicating silently. It seemed that each spirit was intent on asking their own questions.

"We are being pursued by a group of Church Knights who have orders to kill us for practicing 'witchcraft'. We ask for protection," Karin replied first, answering the female spirit's question...

...before Yuzu continued on in the same vein as their previous response, answering the male, "and yes, our family is Kurosaki."

The woman seemed to fade back slightly, allowing her companion to come to the fore. ~**From whence does your family come?**~ he demanded.

Yuzu shuddered as she felt the full weight of the spirit's presence upon her, and it was only her sister's comforting hand that allowed her to answer. "We came from across the seas many years ago, before settling in a village that was destroyed after a rash of witch burnings more than a century ago. Our ancestors left before they could be discovered and we've lived on our homestead ever since," Yuzu answered shakily, babbling slightly, before adding "we are named for our great grandmother and grand Aunt."

~**...Kurosaki...**~ The male seemed to rumble, as if running the word over in his mind. He seemed to set himself, as if making a decision. ~**You shall have your protection. Those who would threaten you and those who would keep company with these Knights are now fated to die.~**

The woman watched as her companion faded out of sight, back into the spiritual plane, leaving slightly astonished looks on the two humans faces. _~Count yourselves fortunate that he decided to help you_~ she advised. ~_The last human who presumed to summon us took three days to die._~ she finished in a detached voice.

"Why have you chosen to favour us, and not them?" Yuzu asked despite her nerves as Karin paled beside her. If she could find out why she was accepted and not killed, perhaps she could create a more effective summoning ritual...

~_You were polite. They were not._~

Yuzu paled to match her sister at the news that they still had their lives courtesy of their upbringing and the whims of the spirits they had summoned.

There was a slight gust of wind accompanied by the coppery scent of blood, marking the return of the male spirit. ~**Seven are dead. Five are not.**~ In response to the unanswered question, he continued, ~**The remaining five are protected. I cannot harm them on the spiritual plane.**~ He turned his gaze upon Karin and Yuzu, taking his companion's hand once more. ~**If you wish for us to fight them, you must summon us to the with tangible bodies. We cannot help in these mere physical presences.**~

Yuzu's heart sank. Even with seven of their foes dead, the two of them couldn't hope to overcome five armed Knights, no matter their other skills, and to summon a spirit into the mortal plane fully...for that you needed their true name, and no spirit would give that up freely.

~**I am Zangetsu.**~ The male spirit announced, shattering Yuzu's line of thought.

Zangetsu's companion regarded him for the barest of moments before giving a soft sight. ~_I am Shirayuki._~

"Why..?" Yuzu stuttered.

~**Because I shall not allow my descendants to be hunted down like prey. Now begin your ritual~**

Yuzu nodded jerkily, her mind on the receiving end of one too many shocks in the last several minutes. She knelt again and began another chant, this time including the names of their guardians.

Karin still appeared to be digesting the new information. "Descendant?" she asked uncertainly.

~**I endured my life in the village that you spoke of as destroyed after a number of witch hunts. It was I who killed the priest and ended the burnings.**~

"Why?" Karin asked, parroting her sister's earlier question.

~**They tried to burn Shirayuki. The **_**did**_** burn Shirayuki.**~ he growled in the first true show of emotion since being summoned. ~**I gave my life in penance for a village not worth saving.**~

~_And you were rewarded with your current form._~ Shirayuki finished fondly.

**~That was when you were still Rukia.~** Zangetsu replied with a smile that looked almost out of place on his stern visage.

_~And you Ichigo.~_

The spirits let their conversation drift off, leaving Karin with the impression that they were communication on an entirely different level. The dark haired warrior witch filed all she had been told to the back of her mind. It was too much to take in now.

A flicker of movement at the corner of her vision caused Karin to turn. What she saw caused her to swear in turn.

Five mounted Knights stood at the edge of the tree line, their armoured faces illuminated by the torch that each of them carried. Clad in chainmail and armed with steel, the mark of the Church was clearly embroidered on their pennants. With them were seven horses with empty saddles, marked by red stains that flowed down their flanks.

The hunters began a trot towards the illuminated stone Circle, within which they could only see their quarry. It took them less than a minute to travel the distance.

"Cease your prattling, woman," the man who appeared to be the leader of the Knights ordered. "We are protected."

Yuzu ignored them, knowing her chant was their only possible hope at this point. She was nearly finished...all she needed was a little more time.

Karin met her eyes and nodded grimly. She would give her sister the time she needed. With a steely rasp, she drew her blades and dropped into a guard position, causing laughter within the Knights.

"You think you, a _woman_, can stand up to a Knight? Surely you jest!"

Karin's eyes flashed in anger. "Weak little woman am I? Then I'm sure any one of you will be able to take me on alone."

There were several more chuckles before the leader spoke once more, "a challenge it is then." He gestured one of the men at his back to step forward. "The youngest among us, only slightly older than yourself," he proclaimed as if making a joke, yet his eyes were calculating.

The man indicated dismounted and began to advance towards Karin, swinging his blade from side to side menacingly. Karin's eyes widened and her hands began to shake, much to the amusement of the Knights four watching comrades.

Their amusement was short-lived, however, as the young Knight swung his blade just a little too far to the side, giving Karin ample time to dart in and slide her short sword through the gap between helmet and chainmail.

A final spurt of blood shot out of the wound, splattering across Karin's face, before a gurgling sound echoed through the stone Circle, his death rattle. He fell to the ground in a heap, revealing the shocked eyes of his comrades to Karin, and her savage grin to them.

"Does that mean I win?" she asked in a faux innocent voice, infuriating the Knights.

"Wretched creature!" Another Knight snarled, pulling a dagger from his belt. He threw it with unerring accuracy at Yuzu, causing Karin to freeze—only to sigh in relief as the dagger was batted off course by some invisible force towards one of the stones where it sunk in nearly to the hilt.

The Knights stared at the dagger in fear. "Devilry," one whispered.

"And nothing your God can do will stop it," Karin whispered, playing on their fears as she ran her tongue over her lips, tasting the blood on them.

Yuzu's chant rose to fever pitch as three of the final four Knights drew their broadswords and began to advance, while the fourth withdrew a wooden cross and began to pray, brandishing the cross towards Yuzu. Karin couldn't help but smirk as she saw Zangetsu wave an insubstantial hand through it, supremely unconcerned by its 'holy power'.

And then the Knights were upon her. Karin blocked the first blow, a heavy overhand swing with both swords, before kicking the Knight in the chest to give herself room. The second Knight came up on her left, hoping to flank her, only to find her ready and waiting.

Her blades flickered out, scoring a hit on her foe's arm. With a painful wince, he attempted to switch hands, only to have Karin's boot connect solidly with the handle of the blade and drive it up into his helmet, knocking him back. While not lethal, he was dazed, and that was enough for him to stumble slightly and fall, keeping him out of the fight for a few more precious seconds.

Karin turned to face the leader, only to find him already on her. A gauntleted fist crashed into her head, and a wave of darkness threatened to overwhelm her vision as she stumbled. She struggled to stay conscious, and felt as a fist grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet.

"Whore," he snarled, ignoring her flailing fists, "I'll see you and your sister stripped and dragged naked back to the village for the men to enjoy before we burn you and send you back home to hell."

"_..et du Zangetsu! Et du Shirayuki!_"

Karin let a crazed grin cross her face as she heard Yuzu's words. "Sanctimonious bastard," Karin gasped. "You went for the wrong sister!"

Shock flitted across the Knight's face as he dropped Karin to the ground in a heap, quickly followed by fear as he whirled to face Yuzu, blade in hand.

Instead of a defenseless girl kneeling on the ground, he came face to face with a man shrouded in darkness, holding a blade that seemed to be shrouded in a midnight aura, with a sinister red light shining from within. The man who had been praying was now quaking in fear as a woman of indescribable beauty stood before him, her face directly in front of his own.

The wooden cross dropped from his shaking hands as a smile seemed to cross Shirayuki's face, before she breathed delicately across her victim's face. His breath began to come in steaming gasps, as his face grew cold, then frosted over, before finally blackening in the cold, before the icy death spread to the rest of his body. With a small flick to the forehead, Shirayuki shattered her victim's corpse, before turning to face the remaining three Knights.

Zangetsu seemed to surge forward to the first Knight Karin had felled, his blade flowing like quicksilver. It pierced the chainmail of the Knight like liquid, before Zangetsu wrenched it to the side, carving a great chunk out of his victim's body. Shirayuki was already upon the final Knight besides the leader, freezing his arms solid and pulling them off his body with a strength that was belied by her small stature.

The two spirits brought into the physical world turned to face the leader, advancing with clear intent.

"N-no! I am protected! You cannot harm me! The Bishop! He promised I would be protected!"

"**The Bishop lied,**" Zangetsu spoke calmly, raising his blade high. "**And no force in this world or the next can protect you from my wrath.**"

The Knight had time for one quick scream before Zangetsu's blade descended, separating his head from his body. Each piece of the corpse fell to the ground with a dull thud, before the pooling blood was drawn to the feet of the one who spilled it.

Zangetsu drew in a deep breath, smelling the air as Shirayuki observed him with a small smile adorning her face.

"_You seem pleased,_" Shirayuki supplied.

"**I feel strong,**" Zangetsu answered as his gaze traveled from one unconscious sibling to the other, Yuzu having fainted from the exertion of summoning them. "**Protecting my descendants has granted me power.**"

"_What now?_" Shirayuki asked, already knowing the answer. "_Shall we leave them to their devices as we continue to slake out wanderlust?_"

"**No. Now we protect them, and my line, for as long as they remain true to the Siedh.**"

Shirayuki slipped her hand into Zangetsu's reveling in the warmth that such a touch now brought. Yes. Perhaps wearing a physical form would be interesting....at least for a while.


	14. Witchcraft: Assumption

Shirayuki—now renamed Rukia in her current form—was disgusted. Wearing a physical form was _tiring_. Not only that, but it was difficult to accustom oneself to all the trivialities that came with wearing a human form.

Rukia held back an uncharacteristic giggle. She supposed Zangetsu's—now Ichigo's—reaction to her walking about their inn room without a stitch of clothing had been worth the blushing explanations of the two young girls, whom Rukia had come to view as her wards, as to why wearing clothing when with company was the decent thing to do.

Rukia couldn't help it. She giggled. Ichigo had blushed the most interesting shade of red. She was half tempted to do it again, just to get another reaction out of her normally unflappable companion. Rukia glanced to the side, taking in his appearance.

They had been forced to smother their otherworldly presence even further in order to blend in amongst the villages that they passed through, both of them returning for the most part to what their appearance had been before their deaths. For the most part.

Ichigo stood just as tall as he had before his death, his stance defiant and his scowl challenging. It was his eyes that had seen the change, orange torches that no mortal could meet for too long a time. The rustic tunic and trousers seemed out of place on him and could not measure up to the way his own aura wrapped around him in his true form. Becoming aware of her attention, Ichigo's gaze flicked from the road they were following through town and onto her.

Ichigo grinned appreciatively as he took in his partner's appearance. Century old spirit he may be, unaware of the fairer sex he was not. Her skin was still pale, retaining just a hint of the ethereal luminescence it had held as a spirit, while her hair had taken on a darker tone. She was wearing a protective leather outfit borrowed from Karin that was rather flattering. Like himself, it was her eyes that might give her away as something more than human, for no mortal could see life through such molten pools of amethyst.

The two otherworldly beings of considerable power were currently following Ichigo's descendants through a relatively busy marketplace in one of the larger towns they had passed through thus far, almost a city with a population of around 13 000 people, according to Yuzu. Vendors stood hawking their wares, items ranging from the practical (clothing and steel), to the frivolous (garish necklaces and other luxuries), to the ridiculous (totems guaranteed to trap any malicious spirits).

At his side, Ichigo heard Rukia draw a sharp intake of breath. He tensed as his gaze roved around, seeking out what had produced such a reaction. His gaze found what it was looking for and Ichigo paled in fear. Yuzu and Karin looked back in alarm as they heard what they thought to be a fearful whimper from the powerful man/spirit.

Rukia eyes were wide. She drifted towards one of the aforementioned stalls as if in a trance and it was all Ichigo could do not to tackle her to the ground and drag her away from the danger. That would only spell doom for them all.

Rukia stood in front of the stall, the man on the other side wearing a pleased smile that his wares had enraptured the lady so.

"Bunny," she breathed as her wide, sparkling eyes took in the pure white rabbit hopping about with its companions in one of the several cages at the stall.

Yuzu and Karin took in the scene in equal parts of amusement and confusion, as Ichigo whimpered again.

**X**

Ichigo glared malevolently at the spawn of darkness hiding behind the guise of an innocent rabbit that was currently perched on his Rukia's shoulders. Yuzu and Karin were the only mildly surprised to see the rabbit rather successfully glaring back.

"Evil..." Ichigo accused.

"Cute," Rukia corrected primly.

"It has bewitched you, Rukia! You just can't see it for what it really is!" Ichigo claimed with a number of excessive hand gestures.

Rukia snorted. "You've just got a grudge against all things related to cute little bunnies like Mr. Chappy," she stated, happily cooing at her new pet.

"Oh? What's this?" Karin entered the conversation with a grin plastered across her face.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Rukia. "Don't. You. Dare," he warned.

Rukia's eyes sparkled as she replied, "Ichigo has had a number of...unfortunate encounters with a number of innocent little bunnies every time he assumes some sort of physical form."

"Funny how these 'unfortunate encounters' always seem to occur with your pets," Ichigo growled, pointedly ignoring the grins that were now sported by both Karin and Yuzu.

The group had exited the town after Rukia's purchase of the recently named 'Mr. Chappy'. The stall keeper couldn't even bring himself to take advantage of Rukia's obvious desire for the rabbit of her choice, opting instead to exchange it at a low price for a number of coins that Rukia had pulled out of...somewhere. They were now headed for a bolt hole that Karin and Yuzu had stocked with supplies in the nearby mountains on their way back to the young womens' village.

"So..." Karin drawled as she fell into step beside Ichigo. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but what's the real reason behind you guys protecting us?"

"Real reason?" Ichigo replied mildly.

"Yeah," Karin replied, crossing her arms. "Some sort of spirit quest? An old debt? Mysterious compulsion?"

"Er...no, not quite," Ichigo scratched his head self-consciously, watching Rukia and Yuzu fuss over the demon spawn—er, rabbit as he did so. "We were bored."

Karin raised an eyebrow wryly, conveying volumes in a single look. "You were bored."

"Yup. Although, to be fair, if you weren't my blood descendants we probably would have just watched the Knights hunt you down."

Ichigo's reply reminded Karin harshly that despite how human he and his companion looked, they were still century old spirits who had little interest in human affairs.

"Really?" Karin asked, a frown crossing her face.

"Well...no. But we certainly wouldn't have considered giving you our true names," Ichigo replied coolly.

"Huh," Karin replied in a sober tone, slightly put off by Zangetsu's—Ichigo's words.

Without explanation, Ichigo perked up suddenly. "Hey, you know one way you can thank us though?" he asked brightly.

"What's that?" the dark haired young woman asked, eager to find something she could do to repay their guardians. A few steps in front of them, Yuzu and Rukia turned partially to listen in on their conversation.

"You can draw up a ritual circle at your little hide away and offer up a blood sacrifice to us and our Father," Ichigo outlined enthusiastically, a dark light glinting in his eyes. Ahead of him, Rukia began to nod in happy agreement.

"Oh, that would help so much! We would be much better prepared to take our retribution against the Church then!"

Yuzu looked uneasily at the woman/spirit she had been gushing over a cute rabbit with seconds previous. "A blood sacrifice?" she asked anxiously. "You know they require the life blood of the sacrifice..." she trailed off.

Rukia brushed off her concerns with a wave of her hand. "That won't be a problem," she explained. "There are a group of outlaws waiting to ambush us around the next bend. You will only need two of them alive to complete the ritual."

"We haven't exactly studied up on those sorts of rituals," Karin ventured, reminded more forcefully than ever that their companions were not at all human, despite their outwards appearances.

"That's perfectly fine," Ichigo assured, a smirk spreading across his face. "We are quite knowledgeable in that area."

"You mentioned something about bandits?" Yuzu asked, dragging her mind back on track as the rounded a curve in the road.

"Yep. This should be them know."

Karin scowled at Ichigo's blasé attitude and prepared to draw one of the blades strapped across her back, her scowl deepening when he chuckled at her actions.

"Don't fret. Rukia will deal with these men," he stated in a final tone.

Rounding the bend proper, they were confronted by a group of five men stretched across the somewhat narrow road. Rukia fixed a pleasant smile across her face, apparently not noticing the way the men's eyes lingered on the flesh revealed by the leather outfits worn by herself and Karin. They completely ignored Yuzu in her robes and disregarded Ichigo as an apparent threat, unarmed as he was.

The five men were wearing worn and badly patched clothes and judging by the fragrant scent wafting from their direction, their hygiene left a lot to be desired. The five of them were armed with a variety of weapons, ranging from a rusty longsword to an uncared for spear.

"'ello there," the apparent leader greeted them with a grin, yellowed teeth dotting his gums. "Oi reckon yannow tah drill. Leave ya packs, any valuables yeh might got, and we'll let you go free," he stated before pausing for a moment, considering. "Ah, and ye'll be leaving one of tah pretty wenches in the leather. Tha' should bout do it," the leader finished to the leering grins of his fellows.

"But good sirs," Rukia answered in a delicate, earnest tone. "We haven't any valuables on us. Are you sure you cannot find it in your hearts to let us pass?"

"Hmmmm. Yeh make a compellink argument, milady," the leader replied in a tone that might have been meant to be cultured. "But ah think I'll have tah say nah to your kind offer."

"Oh dear," Rukia replied. "This is a trouble."

One of the men at the lead bandits side scowled and spoke up. "Let's just steal their stuff and rape the bitches already," he sneered. "We don't got time to be standing around havin' nice conversations with whores."

From the corner of her eye, Karin saw the grass on the side of the road near Ichigo's feet wither and die. She winced.

Rukia smiled, and suddenly there was nothing delicate or earnest about her. "Perhaps I shall give the three luckier of your number a small kiss," she offered with all the promise of a crossroads demon. "But I'm afraid I have special plans for the two of _you_," she directed at the two spokesmen with a dark desire in her eyes that seemed to freeze them in place.

Unbidden, the three bandits who had remained silent began to drift forwards towards Rukia. Her smile widened, becoming cruel and expectant as she stepped up to meet her victims. Karin and Yuzu watched in detached curiosity as their guardian seemed to dance through them, pecking each on the cheek once and only once.

"I got a kiss on the lips," Ichigo remarked idly, although there was a faintly prideful tone in his voice.

Before the sisters could question what he meant, a snowflake seemed to blossom on the cheeks of the men where Rukia's lips had pressed against every so fleetingly. It stayed as it was for the barest of moments, before the ice spread rapidly across their bodies, freezing them in place.

Within seconds, their three would be attackers were little more than frozen sculptures, before their forms cracked and fell to the ground, disintegrating on the dusty road.

"Come," Rukia commanded to the two remaining outlaws who now seemed enthralled by her ethereal beauty that had begun to shine through in the course of her dance. "Come," she repeated, "and I shall let you serve me. It will be your honour and privilege to myself and my soul-partner," Rukia promised, as the two men began to follow her in a daze, their weapons falling to the ground behind them.

Ichigo chuckled darkly as they resumed their journey, stepping up to Rukia and leaning forward. He nibbled lightly on her jugular before pulling back, breathing softly in her ear as he did so.

Karin and Yuzu followed behind the two enraptured bandits who were following their guardians like lost puppies, the sisters' expressions reflecting awe, fear, and perhaps just a small amount of envy.

This was the power of a Siedh spirit. The Church wasn't going to know what hit it.


	15. Hard Candy, Part I

**Hard Candy**

www. Meetngreet .net

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Welcome Back, IceMaiden23.

Friends Status:

DarkSideoftheMoon – Offline

Chat Request: 2Cool4U

Request Accpted.

IceMaiden23 said:

_Hello._

2Cool4U said:

**H3y! A/S/L?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_I'm 16 years old, female, and I"m not telling you where I live. :). Wbu?_

2Cool4U said:

**Come on, why not? I might live near u.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Nope, not telling sorry. :P_

2Cool4U said:

**Fine. Your a gurl? Ima guy. Can I at least c a pic? I'll send you one if you send me 1!**

IceMaiden23 has left the conversation.

Friends Status:

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Chat Request: Illusion Photographer

Request Accepted.

IceMaiden23 said:

_Hello..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Hello. How are you?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_I'm good, so long as you don't start screaming 'A/S/L' and demanding pics..._

IllusionPhotographer:

**No fear. I believe I can restrain myself.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Oh joy. I'd have to have to take drastic measures._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Sounds like something to avoid.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Glad to see we have an understanding. So do I get to hear a bit about you?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**If you'll tell me a bit about yourself in return...**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Of course. We have a deal._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Well, I'm a 30 yo. male, and I have my own place. I work as a photographer, mainly with graphic illusions and the female canvas.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Graphic Illusions? FemaleCanvas?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Graphic Illusions: Creating a city skyline out of staples, a forest out of pencils. Female Canvas: A female model is the focus of the picture; can be fashion shots, body painting or artistic nudes.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Really? That sounds interesting._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**It is. Now, it's your turn. :).**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Ok. I'm 16 years old, female, and I finished high school last year._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Only 16? I thought you to be older.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Why's that?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**You seem more mature.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_***blushes**__*. You flatter me._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**It's only the truth. What do you do with yourself now that you've finished your schooling? And how did you finish it at your age?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_To be honest...? Nothing. I did have a job at a nearby petstore, but I lost it...they claimed I was spending too uch time petting the bunny's and not enough serving customers. :(. So I'm broke. And I finished school because I tested out of the subjects I liked, and refused to go to the rest._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**There can never be too much time spent on the bunny's. And how did you manage to test out?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_YES! Someone who understands! And I tested out by proving that the teacher was an incompetent boob who liked the sound of their own voice too much._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Now now, language Ice. :P. I sense there is more to the story than you are telling...**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Maybe...Alright, I told the teacher that I knew more about the subject than they did...in front of the rest of the class. He told me to prove it, and well...I did._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**I'm sure he loved that. What subject was this?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_It was called '_Understanding Art as a Medium of Communication with the Masses and Alternatives' _ and all it really boiled down to was a weird mix of Art and Journalism._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Doesn't sound like a subject offered at your average high school.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_It wasn't. I went to a snobbish private school where people enjoy looking down their noses at each other._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**You must be above the norm to get into a place like that, although it sounds like you didn't join in with the popular past time of nose-looking-down...**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Meh, I got in somehow. Fat lot of good it does for me now. I spend my time sitting around doodling and taking the occasional picture. Hey, what did you have to do to get into your field?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**I went through University and paid an exorbitant amount of fees for a piece of paper that says I know what I'm doing. But taking pictures you say?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Lol, sounds like the usual Uni experience. And yeah, I like taking pictures when I get the motivation...nothing on the level you do I'm sure, just random stuff like landscapes and fluffy animals._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Would it be presumptuous of me to ask to see one of the images you have taken? Professional curiosity, you see ;).**

IceMaiden23 said:

_You sure..? They're not particularly good. I barely take the time to aperture, white balance, etc..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Ah, but you at least know what they are, unlike that legions of internet insects that call themselves 'photographers'...**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Hmmm, if you say so...you really want to see them?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Just one, if you don't mind that is.**

IceMaiden23 wants to upload a file. Waiting for IllusionPhotographer to accept...

IllusionPhotographer accepted the file .

IceMaiden23 said:

_...well? Is it good? Horrible? I knew it, it's horrible..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Not at all. It is an uncommonly good shot, especially for one with only high school knowledge of photography, private school or not. There are small details that could make future shots better, yes, but on the whole it is a rather interesting image.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Wow, thanks. I wasn't expecting that...what sort of 'details' do you mean? _

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Just small things really. On the right side, there is a portion of a branch protruding into the picture, in the upper middle there a a few birds that are blurred that should be frozen if you wanted to include them in the shot...the small kid at the waters edge on the left side, if you have people in a picture like this they should be the focus of not there at all (less is more). A number of small things that add up to make this picture stop at good, instead of making great.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Wow, that's a lot of things to remember...How do you pick all that out? Especially since landscapes aren't your main genre._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**You've got to know it, it has to be ingrained for you to be a great photographer. If you'd like, I could give you a few pointers...I won't be much help online, as the best way to learn is to have hands-on teaching, rather than critiquing after the fact, but I can still help here and there.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_...Hmmmm..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Of course, if you'd like to meet I could give you a more thorough instruction. It's not often you meet someone with your level of skill outside of higher learning institutes.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Meet? You could live on the other side of the country..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Actually, I believe that this website connects people who are close geographically. So the offer still stands, if you're interested. It would at least give you something to do with all that time on your hands, although I do understand you being hesitant.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_I think I'd like that. It definitely does beat sitting around all day..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Excellent. How about you name a district near to yours? That way we can discover if we do live somewhat nearby, and you don't even have to tell me your address. **

IceMaiden23 said:

_Sounds great. Do you know Lakeview Terrace?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**I do actually. Is that the lake in the image you showed me?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_It is. Do you live near there?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**I thought it looked familiar... and yes, I do live near there. Do you know 'The Place Around The Corner' cafe?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Yeah, I know it..._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Then I propose that we meet there, get to know each other further, and then descend to the lake to work on your technique. How does that sound?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Awesome. Does tomorrow sound ok?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**It does. The weather should be clear and cool. Best photography conditions we could ask for. Will you have to alert your parents?**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Nah, they're out of town. They say I'm mature enough to live home alone, but they still have a friend of theirs come around every few days. He was around earlier._

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Then I look forward to tomorrow. It shall be good to find out for myself if there really is such a thing as a mature teenager...such mythical creatures they are. :P.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_Ha. Ha. Ha. It is to laugh. I'll see you tomorrow, at 'The Place Around The Corner', around ten thirty?_

IllusionPhotographer said:

**Maturity levels fast dropping... :P. And that sounds satisfactory. I shall see you then, Miss Ice.**

IceMaiden23 said:

_See you then, Mister Comedian. _

IllusionPhotographer has left the conversation.

Friends Status:

DarkSideoftheMoon – Offline.

Send a message to 'DarkSideoftheMoon':

Hey, I won't be able to come tomorrow, I'm so sorry. Something came up at Lakeview Terrace that I need to sort out. It's so frustrating, I'll probably end up hitting that cafe we found that time we got caught out in the rain. I'll be taking my Umbrella this time, just in case. Don't forget your equipment for your match tomorrow! Make sure you double check it tonight. You have to be there before 10:30, so you won't have time to do it in the morning. Hope to catch up soon.

Oh, and have I told you to change your display name? It just does not match your cheerful, sunny, exuberant disposition...try not to drown in the sarcasm.

Sorry I can't see you tomorrow!

...Message sent to DarkSideoftheMoon.

IceMaiden23 has signed off.


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